Moonlight Duels: Yugioh GX & Sailor Moon
by Evening Blaze
Summary: Disclaimer - Moonlight Duels - Genres: OCS, action, adventure, drama, romance, and fantasy. The following is primarily Yugioh GX & Sailor Moon (dubbed version) crossover. There are mentions of Yugioh series, RWBY series, violence, swearing, mention of minor verbal & physical abuse, minor date violence, and small mentions of death. Please try to be merciful, it's my first time
1. Chapter 1

Hi there, my name is Crystal Aura Kirai (it's pronounced Key-rye). Great name right? Well not too bad, until you look up what "Kirai" means in Japanese. Which I'm sure all of us know words can have various translations in any language or use, however the one I'm referring to is "hate". In all honesty, I think it fits: all my life my mother has said she hates me. I'm not exaggerating either, she's said that to my face before beating me senseless. This has gone on from my third birthday. My father is no good either, see he's a sick man and as such not allowed near me. Now enough sob story, I don't want to start this off badly. I managed to make it out of that place around my last year of junior high, thanks to an old friend. He's more like an older brother to me than my best friend, his name is Jaden Yuki, but sometimes I call him "Jade". We grew up together in a suburban neighborhood near Tokyo, Japan. He's a year older than me, he's 16 and I'm 15. Like me: Jaden has ivory skin, expressive brown eyes, and brown hair. Unlike me, his medium brown hair has natural orange highlights in it that stop at the base of his head. Now his eyes are a medium brown that is lively and fun, (most of the time), when he's sad or disappointed, he kind of looks like a kicked puppy, when he's understandably angry, he looks more overly-determined than anything else. He has a pretty lean but sturdy build to him. I have a darker shade to my hair and eyes, they both almost look black but when lights hit them correctly, you can see the brown in them. My hair is straight and thick but comes off as wavy, because I wear it in a braid at night, and it comes down to the middle of my back. I've been told my eyes are warm and bright, despite how hard I try to lie about my hidden sadness. I have a basic and healthy girl figure, not too busty or curvy but not a stick either. Both of us love dueling, but he also enjoys sports. Team sports or individual ones that can be considered a team sport too. While he tends to see them more as a fun pass time and not his career and passion. Whereas I personally enjoy the arts, especially the expressive and performance arts. The expressive arts include any kind of pictures involving painting, pencils, oil pastels, and so on. Now the performance arts I favor are singing and dance. So to me, dueling isn't just a game: it's a way to express your likes, your hobbies, your dreams, and learn from others. I use it for fun and to learn more about myself and the people around me. It also helps me cope when talking to friends, singing, or drawing doesn't work. My career path? I don't care much, as long as I can pay bills, put food on the table, and help out. So stocking shelves at a store like Sunny Mart where you can get all you need in one place? I honestly don't mind, but not fast food.

Now Jaden? He's something else because what he lacks in book smarts, he makes up for with his ability to think on his feet. He might be a little dense but deep down? He's a loyal, kind, confident, fun, and selfless person. He also has a habit of being what I call "painfully honest", meaning he tends makes jokes while also telling the truth about something. I feel blessed to have him in my life as a friend because I know if I have something I want to talk about? He's there to listen and help if I need it, then cheer me up without even trying. He's always looked out for me, like an older brother. Which is why him going to Duel Academy, one of the top 5 dueling schools in the world, is going to be tough. I know it's his dream to be the next King of Games, to be just as great as his hero, Yugi Moto. The only way that's ever going to happen is if he goes out and learns. I get that entirely, but no one ever said saying goodbye was easy, let alone fun. Duel Academy is a school away from home on an island with almost every kind of terrain imaginable, they have dorms and uniforms that are associated with how high the students rank in their scores in homework, written tests, and field tests. They even supply food, any and all medication students may require (as long as they give them a heads up), the supplies needed for cleaning clothes, and basic hygiene needs, even a standard school duel disk. I know he can take care of himself and that he'll be fine, but I'll still miss him. So no matter how much I may want to cry as I watch him duel to enter the school, and eventually see him off when he leaves? I won't cry, I know he'd rather see me smiling and wishing him well, instead of crying because of how much I'll miss him. He's not selfish, but I know it'll only make leaving harder on him too.

So here we are, at the try out entrance exams: the building is huge! The ceiling lights in each dueling area had to be about 15 feet long and 20 feet wide at least. Four of those bad boys made up a square right above where each entire duel was taking place, from what I saw? There were four there, so four try out exams could take place at once! Thankfully each one had sound canceling walls to drown out the duels either next to, in front of, or behind the current one on one duel. This way both the applicants and the proctors can focus. Of course, friends and family were allowed to watch and cheer, which is where I come in. I wanted to be there for him for once, so I came up with a bogus story that the teacher and dean believed. I make it a habit to only do this in either emergency or when it's important. I counted today as; "incredibly important & highly classified". I knew Jaden would do the same for me so I was glad he made it to the exams before they closed up. Now it's time for him to show that he's good enough.

While we waited for his chance, we talked to another applicant. He had light blue hair, big and adorable gray eyes that had small circular glasses in front of them. The shape of his eyes reminded me of Yugi Moto in some of the posters I've seen: big, bright, and cute as be. His voice was high and sweet yet very unsure of himself, kinda like a preteen but I could tell he wasn't a child. He just hasn't hit puberty yet, but he's probably just a late bloomer. Now one thing I noticed was as far as height goes? This kid came up to the middle of Jaden's upper arm when standing side by side. I stand just a few centimeters under Jaden's chin. He said his name was Syrus Truesdale and that he's surprised he even won, let alone made it passed the written exams. I felt sorry for the kid but I didn't exactly have time to offer encouragement right then and there because Jaden was called for his duel. I wasn't sure what to make of the proctor that Jaden was supposed to face: was it a chick? A man? I heard them say their name, I figured it was safe to say this Proctor was a man who just looks like a chick. I didn't like how this guy gave off an air of "high and mighty, bow to me you lower life". I want to give him the benefit of doubt, but as soon as I heard his place in the job? I knew he was a high-level teacher, most likely second in command. This was a complete mismatch and how he acted definitely wasn't helping. I would bet my best Spellcaster card that he wasn't using a test deck like they're required to, he was using his own. I can't be sure why but I knew that he was trying to fail Jaden. Sure the other proctors were miffed about defeat and such, but that's because they have to give it their best. This guy was purposely trying to fail Jaden, I knew because my instincts have never lead me astray. Jaden had recently played a monster I've never seen him play before Winged Kuriboh! An adorable brown fur ball with big sweet eyes, little green paws, and the high pitched voice it makes when it's summoned? That's heart melting, just like all the other Kuribohs, only this one had little angel wings. This little guy helped Jaden, even though he was destroyed. On that very turn, Jaden takes no damage to his score.

See there's three types of important numbers in duel monsters: the attack points for each monster, which are deducted from your score if the attack works, defense points for each monster which mostly protect your score so long as the monster is in defense mode, and your Life points, those are your total score. All duels here start with 4000 life points, the one who eliminates the other person's life points' first wins. Meaning that if Jaden's life points reach 0, he loses: both the duel and his chance to get into the academy this year. There are other important parts to this game too: spell cards and trap cards, without those you lose every time. Spells can raise or lower the power of your monsters or your opponent's monsters, they can protect you and or your monsters, inflict direct damage, remove traps, restore your life points and even give a nice holographic scenery change. Some can even force your opponent's monsters from attack to defense or vice versa, or let you take control. Traps are similar but are considered the most dangerous. They can protect your monsters and your score, inflict damage, destroy your opponent's monsters, weaken them, or even let you take control of them, some can even hamper with your opponents entire deck. The monsters themselves have levels that are ranked by the stars under their names and these can be from 1-12. Some require a sacrifice depending on the monster level. You do this by sending one of your own monsters from the field to the grave so you can bring out the monster you want to summon: typically any monster with 4 stars or less is allowed to the field on your turn, 5 and 6 starred monsters need one sacrifice, but 7-12 starred monsters vary depending on the type and the level. Some like Dark Magician need two sacrifices, but some others need three. Sure the 4 leveled monsters may look weak but their special abilities can definitely make up for it. While some don't have one or more, these special abilities are ways to help either each other or you or even both. It all depends on how effectively you use them, and Jaden's Winged Kuriboh may be a small guy with small points, but his effect saved Jaden. Now his trap, hero signal, lets him summon an Elemental Hero to the field.

This so called "teacher" was in for it now, he kept disrespecting Jaden and his cards. I know it's just a game, but that doesn't give this Crowler guy the right to trash someone he: (a) doesn't even know and (b) call his opponent's cards lame. He's not a teacher because he wants the students to succeed and help them learn; he's in it for the pay, perks, and publicity of being a teacher at one of the best schools out there! Which makes Jaden defeating his extremely rare card all the more enjoyable & maybe that'll shut him up and show him: don't judge by what you see, judge by what a person does and how he or she treats others. Any person can train and practice to be a good duelist; but to be as good as Yugi, they need to put their trust and faith in their cards and themselves. Not just when things are good, but when things look like you may as well quit. The reasons to duel are important too, which is mostly reflected in cases like this or the most commonly seen case: tournaments. Are you dueling for yourself? Fun? Or is the prize something that can help someone you care about? That's where the power of faith in your cards and yourself help the most. The support from friends and family also gives it a boost. It's known as The Heart of The Cards.

There's one other thing that people don't know about: that some people who are duelists are born with a special gift. A gift that allows the duelist to see duel spirits, some can even hear them. I know it sounds crazy, but for people like Jaden & myself? It's completely normal; but just like people, some duel spirits can be ill-willed or even deadly. They're the ones to watch out for, but 8 times out of 10, they don't want to hurt anyone or fight at all. If you trust the ones in your deck, treat them with respect, and ask for help in times of need during a duel? They won't let you down, some of these duel spirits can give advice and help you, but you need to be careful. My gift for this goes deeper: I can touch them like any other person, I can feel their texture. Sometimes, if the duel spirit isn't harmful or isn't hiding any malicious intentions? They can do the same for me too, but again, only the truly good ones can touch me back. I know because when Jaden ran up to me and hugged me, I could feel Winged Kuriboh's smooth feathers and his soft yet scruffy brown fur brushed my face. It tickled my nose and I sneezed. Now Jaden knew I could see and hear duel spirits, but I doubt he knew about the whole touch thing. I never told him and thought it was best I keep it to myself.

The next day on the way to school, he asked me if I wanted to hang out and have dinner with his family. The late summer air was warm and comfortable, I could see the leaves starting to give their last moments of life, I could feel the warm sunlight as it meets the crisp air. I knew the city we lived in was a lot cleaner when it comes to smog and I tend to get lost in the scenery but I still listened as we walked. He had to explain to his principal and dean that he was accepted into duel academy, so this was his last week at his high school, and as a freshman too. He looked good in his gray school uniform: it consisted of a medium gray jacket with triangle clasps on the inside to close the collar & zipper on cold days, and dark gray denim jeans. The shirts students typically wore are clean, plain t-shirts of solid colors. It doesn't matter if it was red, white, blue or whatever. Just solid, plain, colors but must be clean and only tiny holes are allowed. He wears low cut sports socks, and just regular tennis shoes. I don't go to the same school, but it's a sister school to his. My uniform was a knee length pleated skirt in navy blue. My top was white with matching navy blue sailor collar. The medium sized bow on my chest was a dark shade of a teal-ish blue, kind of like what you get when you mix bright blue, some black, and a hint of teal. It's brighter than my navy blue collar but not too bright. I wore white, cotton knee high socks and dark sneakers, we both have a backpack that looks like a small briefcase. Well anyways, as we walked and talked, I knew that by agreeing to his offer I'd miss my curfew. I also knew I'd get a slight beating but mostly harsh words. The only problem with that is I'm so used to it that it hardly phases me now. I simply smiled softly, promising I'd be there and I'll meet him in the courtyard in front of his school. Later, when I completed my day, I headed to our meeting place as promised. The soft sunset light dances across his dark brown hair with orange highlights, I kept this kind of image saved in my heart. As he walks with me to his home, we talk and joke on the way. "So any idea what you're going to do for your career, Crysi?" he asked me. This was odd because he hardly ever thinks that far ahead, or at least that's what it often comes across as. Regardless I tried to come up with a simple answer that was believable. Before I could answer, we got to his family home: it was a nice two-floor house and it was a place that felt warm and safe. When we got inside his mother greeted us with a warm smile. She and Jaden's father both typically work late but tonight they were home and her smile was welcoming & warming. She was a day shift nurse and his father was a cosplay designer who kept his work at a studio so he wouldn't clutter the table or house. I was glad to have been invited and become a friend of the family. Both his parents have told me they think of me more like a daughter than just one of Jaden's friends.

While I was visiting, Jaden let me help him pack what he may have forgotten. I saw he still had a laminated picture I had made for him when he was sick. It was a reminder that I knew about some of the things he never told anyone and I will always stay beside him. That's how we really started being friends, some duel spirit he used to have as a kid was starting to hurt his other friends. Somehow I wasn't able to be hurt by this spirit's anger even though I was closer to Jaden than it cared for. His mother's voice calling us for dinner wrenched me from my thoughts. So we went to enjoy, it was some pizza with soft breadsticks. I was happy to enjoy the time with Jaden and his folks, we talked and joked before we got to the subject of his departure time. "Yeah, 7:45 am tomorrow. Can't wait to get there, it'll awesome" He said joyfully. I sat there smiling even though deep down I wanted to cry. I know I should be happy for him and I am; I just wish I could go with him this year, but oh well. "Hey, you ok Crysi?" I heard him ask and his gentle touch snapped me back to my senses. "Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. I kind of spaced out, did you ask me something?" I know I sounded rude for admitting it but I didn't feel right lying about it. He smiled softly at me, his eyes asking me to talk to him, "Well I asked if you're ok. I know something is bugging you, so why not tell me?" How can I answer him without sounding selfish? It's not like I can say "I'm happy for you. Only I don't want you to leave me behind while you chase your dreams. I'll always support you but always a year behind..." so I just opt for the cop-out. "I'm fine, I'm just thinking of the best route to walk home is all", his face looked like he didn't think that was the whole problem but if he did, he didn't say anything. "Well ok, I guess" was his response. The dinner went on as normal and then I thanked them for letting me stay over. I decided to walk home and I took the brightest route. As I thought, cruel words that hurt my heart and soul, minor beatings that left bruises on my thighs, stomach and upper arms. I'm so numb to the physical pain that it hardly hurts, but the words cut deep. Either way, I just curl up in bed and cried for a bit... this is why I didn't want him to leave because I don't have any other friends. I know it sounds cowardly and selfish but it's not like I can tell anyone about my home life.

The next morning at 7:30, I walked alongside Jaden to the helipad where the copter was waiting. Once he and the other students board the copter, they'll leave for Duel Academy. I stand a few feet away so his parents and he can say goodbye with smiles and tears. Now it was my turn to say that dreaded three-word phrase. I have to admit, I was a bit surprised by him hugging me. My heart both flutters but hurts because I always feel safe around him. I feel like as long as I'm with my best friend, or rather my "brother", then I can overcome anything that life throws at me. " _No! Stop it! Stop it right now! Bad Crystal! You have to let him chase his dream!_ " I thought to myself. I simply hugged him back, and say "I'll miss you, Jaden." His arms feel so warm, strong, and safe, but I can tell he's a bit upset too. He looks at me, his eyes warm but sad as he spoke; "Hey, I'll video chat you when I can. It's not the same as like right now, but better than nothing." He says this and then ruffles my hair like a brother would, then picks up his bag and boards the copter. I see the copter lift and then leave, I kept my tears in and a smile on my face.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, it's been about 5 or 6 months from when I said goodbye but just like he promised, he would email and sometimes video chat with me. He told me that he's in Slifer Red, one of the three dorms. Now as far as the school system, and dumb popularity status goes, red was the lowest rank. He went on to explain the second highest and fairly likable is Ra Yellow. The top and most snobbish of them? That was Obelisk Blue, most are total jerks but not all of them. Plus how are the Reds the "worst" when they're the kinder ones and the ones who happen to have more fun? Either way, I had to admit, that red jacket with white trim looks amazing, along with his dark gray t-shirt. He even introduced me to his buddies, the kid we met at the entrance exams with sky blue hair and big warm gray eyes that are just too cute to hate! His name is Syrus Truesdale and there was a third-year student and his jacket is kinda different from Jaden and Syrus jackets. He wore a white jacket with red trim and his face kinda reminded me of a koala, his hair looks like ears, his eyes are small and cute, and his nose is like the one you would find on a kola. He may be a fluffy heavy but I can tell he's a kind soul, this guy's name is Chumley Huffington. Today we were talking about how things have been and he told me how he, along with a few other students and two other teachers, are keeping these 7 keys safe from duelists who are keen on unlocking three powerful beasts that were made into duel monster cards.

As I listened, I couldn't help thinking that Maximillion Pegasus must've forgotten what happened the last time he made a trio of beasts that were dangerously powerful! Does he ever learn his lesson?! Last time he made something that strong, it was the three Egyptian God cards. These three divine creatures could only be controlled by those tied to the origins of these gods. The whole world was at risk which is why they were sealed away after being respectively put to rest. Now I find out that he made these Sacred Beasts and they're pretty much infinitely worse than the god cards! "Jaden… I have faith in you and the others, but you have to promise me you'll be careful." I could feel my face burn and my eyes sting but my tears didn't fall. I could see his concern in his eyes, sure we were talking on a video chat and we were miles apart but still. I could tell he was concerned about what I had just said. "Hey, Crysi? Is something bothering you? I mean other than this conversation?" Once again, I can't seem to hide my real emotions. He's my best friend and the closest thing I've ever had to a family member who actually cared enough to help me by staying with me when everyone else was too busy to bother. He had his own problems but even so, he stood by me and encouraged me. He inspired me to be there for others who have it worse than myself because for starters it's the right thing to do and he did that for me. Which is why I never tell him when something is really bugging me, not unless it was something small or seemed small. This way he doesn't have to worry about me, especially in times like these. "No. I'm alright, just a little stressed by this art presentation I have in a few days". Which was, as always, only half true; yes I have an art presentation and it was bugging me a little. However, that wasn't bugging me nearly as much as this news was. I smiled at him and said, "I believe in you, Jade. Just promise me you'll be careful, that's all I ask".

He promised me he would and that he'd call when he can. I couldn't help admiring how no matter the problem, his smile was calm and sure. With that, we logged off for the night and I crawled into my bed. He showed me pictures of his dorm; sure it wasn't what I thought and the school could do so much better, but I still take comfort in knowing he's got a warm bed. Even if it does get chilly he has warm-hearted friends to help keep take the edge off. Just knowing that they care can chip the edge off a bit and make it tolerable. Something I will never have, except in my dreams. What I've always dreamed of I keep in my heart and never tell others because that will lead to problems and more pain for not just me but for those involved. No, I won't drag the ones I love into this. I will endure this on my own and hope that my dear friend is spared. I know he is strong and I still have a lot to learn about such things, but I can't let my problems wear him down. Not when these behemoths threaten not just him but the world as a whole!

So I curl up in the warmth of my dream: I can see a sweet scene of warmth, safety, and security. The people who called me "Daughter" and my best friend all smile at me. The cherry blossom petals danced lightly through the air as I feel my heart become weightless. "Welcome back, Crystal! You're finally home, safe and sound." The dream feels so calm and soft it moves me to silent tears because this is what I want: a loving family that accepts me and loves me unconditionally. Sure there would be days where they wouldn't love what I do or say, but they would still love me nonetheless. I look at my hands and arms: they're calloused and cut to slight bleeding, my bruises aren't as visible but they're there. I then look at my outfit: a bit torn, a little dirty but mostly like what he last saw me in. "Don't worry, my family is your family now. Now come over here and give us a hug sis!" Jaden's laugh helped my dream feel real. I know it's only a sweet dream and it may never be real but I don't care. It's good enough to keep my heart calm, my hope alive, my morals strong, and my goals reasonable. Every night I curl myself up in this dream and even though sometimes I get an unpleasant message in my dreams, I try to understand that it shouldn't sway my heart.

A few days later and I start to wonder what else is going on at Duel Academy. So I decide to look into this school further, not too much that I haven't already seen. During my study hall at school, I decided to look up the legend of these Sacred Beasts, what I found was frightening. These creatures were just as powerful as the god cards, some believed these were the darker counterparts to the Winged Dragon of Ra, Slifer the Sky Dragon, & Obelisk the Tormentor! I didn't like this one bit but I couldn't find anything other information. That's fine because I already found out all I needed to know: these things are dangerous and should never see the light of day. I printed out what I found and then I went to my locker to get my light coat. Before I leave for the day, my art teacher Ms. Makoto asked to speak with me. Her vibrant eyes were a rare shade of brown, a brilliant copper that was bright and warm. Today, however, they shine with a sad glimmer to them, maybe she saw how lackluster my painting for the presentation was? Even so, I stopped and talked to her, she's a teacher I liked and admired because she takes the time to help her students. If she thinks something is bothering them, she listens and does whatever she can to help said student get through it; home life, friend life, or school life. She only asks what a teacher should but shows she cares. "What is it Ms. Makoto?" I asked. Her expression didn't change, but her voice was sad but warm. "Crystal… You're a very talented and bright girl, yet you hold back all your potential and real feelings. I could tell something was wrong just by looking at your picture. There were droplets on it even when it was only a few seconds being completely dried. I knew they were tears based on how quickly you cleaned up and left class. You're normally very careful and treat your as tools as if they're the gems of gods. What's wrong? What caused this change?" I stared… I had no idea she was that observant of her students and their behaviors in the classroom!

As much I didn't want to say, I knew it would get out eventually, so I said: "Can I tell you in a picture assignment?" I knew she's got a sharp eye for seeing hidden messages in artwork. If I draw it out as homework, it may help relieve what frightening pain is buried in my heart. She simply nodded and hugged me. She offered me a ride home because of the rain outside and said she'd feel terrible if I got sick. I obliged and we left, as we rode she asked if I missed my friend. "You mean Jaden Yuki, don't you?" I asked sadly. I told her I miss him but I won't let this slow me down. I have my goals and he has his, but I am glad he made some good friends. She asked if I knew what dorm he was in, I told her it was Slifer Red. "Funnily enough, it seems to be the best because the students tend to be fun and happy. Even if the students have been wrongfully labeled the "Slackers" or "Dueling Dunces" of the school, they at least have fun and are good hearted." I told her. She smiled and even laughed before explaining that her fiancé, Professor Lyman Banner, works as a teacher at the school. He's the headmaster at the Slifer Red dorms and mentioned he met a student who has shown tremendous potential despite his grades on written exams. "I think he sees in your friend what I see in you: a bright, talented, & complicated soul who has passion, dedication, and amazing potential" she smiled as she pulled into our drive. After I got my things from her car, I gave a respectful waist bow to show my gratitude and respect. Then I sadly went back to the house I hate so much.

After my scolding and such, I went upstairs and quietly cried myself to sleep. " _Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! What did I do wrong?! Is this punishment for not being brave enough to say what's bothering me?! What am I supposed to do?! Tell him I don't want him to achieve his dreams because I need him to stay behind with me?! Tell him I think that he's a fool for agreeing to this task?! How will that help anyone?! Please… I need help. I need someone to befriend and guide me_ " I thought before passing out from my tears and mental stress.

As I rested, I saw what Jaden must have been worried about: I saw him compete in a real Shadow Game. This is how Duel Monsters was originally played 5,000 years ago but with a powerful dark magic that put the participants' very souls on the line! In this dream, I saw that with every life point loss, Jaden would suffer pain. He could hardly stand in one part of this dream but it got worse as he landed on his back and the pain wasn't over. He looked like his heart was being ripped out of him by an unseen foe who stood over him! His cries of agony and pain made me want to step in and help but how?! All I could do was watch and listen to these screams of pain from someone I had secretly called "brother". I felt my heart swell and crumble only to repeat that, so out of fear and inability to stand it anymore, I tried to snap my eyes awake but I heard a second voice. It was a woman's voice, calm and warm, like the soft moonlight on a late spring night. "If you truly believe in him, then stay and see him through. This is what he kept from you out of concern, just as you keep your pain hidden from him. Now, do you see? You two share the same inability to stand seeing others in pain and you want to help. Even risking your own health and happiness, but you don't let anyone you love or cherish see you in pain."

I saw my dream start to change, it's as if I could hear his thoughts " _As long as they're safe, I don't care what happens to me. I can put up with any pain for them and those back home._ " I couldn't help crying because he would do so such a noble and selfless thing. I want to be as strong and selfless as him but how? I can't even escape this prison of pain, much less fight for myself! That's when I saw him win but he was exhausted. The woman's voice came from a softly glowing sphere that appeared in front of me. "You already have what he does: a loving & selfless heart, a courageous & determined soul, a sound mind that acts on both intuition and intelligence, and finally a strong and sturdy body. I know you can't fight like this alone. Then again, no one can face these things alone, nor should they ever be expected too. So I will grant you a protector, Terrassa. She is also known as Sailor Earth, as are her comrades the Sailor Scouts. They each represent a different planet in this Solar System, and now their souls are being placed in worthy hands. Hands that will unite souls but keep the balance safe. We know you'll do well, now wake from this place and begin your journey. If you should need me, I am Sailor Cosmos. Just know if I don't answer right away, it's because I know you can handle the task. But you are never alone, for you now have the protection and friendship of the Celestial Sailor Scouts". I woke up to a ray of sunlight on my face and I knew what I had to do.


	3. Chapter 3

So as the months went on, I continued to do my best in school and to practice my dueling with my classmates. They kept saying I should go to a private school to compete because I'm so good and I would tell them I have a school in mind. I just need to figure out how I can earn my stay, tuition isn't cheap and I don't think they give out scholarships for what I would use dueling for. When they ask what I meant, I told them "I duel because I can express my interests, my beliefs, to meet new people and get to know them." But what I hide is "and so I can also get out any pent up stress I might be feeling". Even so, I haven't felt this outgoing in a while like I haven't had the sense of security to try and make my goal to duel others real. Then again with what I saw in my dream? I realized I needed to really decide if I could commit to anything I believed: that fear is normal. That being strong and brave isn't looking for a fight. Having courage and strength is being scared to death & knowing that sometimes the odds of you achieving at all are against you, but you face it anyway for those you love. After that dream, I knew I couldn't let my fear of my so-called parents slow me down. I have a friend who believes in me and he wouldn't quit on me, so I shouldn't quit on him or anyone I love. Later that day, I packed all my necessary clothes, art supplies, savings, school books, and hygiene supplies and left that house for good! I didn't care, I would find a shelter or even sleep in the streets if I must; I was never going back to that place again! Thankfully someone helped me find a shelter for abandoned and orphaned children as well as runaway teens and young adults. I would be safe here, they heard my story and gave me a place to sleep and helped pay for food. All they ask is I show respect and work hard in school, to which I explained I wanted to go to Duel Academy. They told me about the different scholarships that I didn't see on the school's site. I promised to work hard and do my best. Now I had a new but temporary home and a plan, so throughout the winter I studied, practiced, and let time and hope do the rest. Even a brief but whirlwind relationship that turned horribly wrong wouldn't stop me from reaching my goal.

Hard work eventually paid off one late spring day, I was nominated for a charity tournament. This would help me a lot because it was hosted and organized by Maximillian Pegasus himself! So I made sure my duel disk was ready to go and fully functional. I looked at the battle city model…It wasn't originally mine, I got it as a kind of gift/hand-me-down from Jaden. He said the school provided the newer models and he knew I always liked watching him using his in the neighborhood on nice days. He gave it to me and I decided it was only right to give it my best while using it. The prize, as nice as it was, wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to prove I could be a duelist but not for a career, for my own reasons. Somehow I made it to the last round, so while I was in the locker room prepping, I reminded myself that I'm not alone. I have Jaden and that kind woman from my dream helping me… I remember her clearly. Sailor Earth: her dark brown hair straight yet wavy, her ivory to light skin tone, her calm yet lively dark brown eyes, her soft but strong smile. I can hear her voice; warm like melted chocolate, strong like a small river, clear as air, lively and steady as a simple guitar melody. "You can do this. We know you can, and we believe in you. Now go out there and show them what you're made of!" her voice echoes in my heart.

Before I do, I called Jaden and told him how I was doing. His laugh sounded strange… "Is something wrong?" I asked him. "No, I'm proud, you're really doing well. I'm just touched that you kept the duel disk I gave you, I thought you didn't want to use it because of it being a hand me down is all" he said. Now I knew why his voice sounded strange, "Jaden? Are you crying?" I asked. He just laughed and said he was because he's happy for me, I'm not so scared anymore. "I mean if the roles were switched and you knew I was working past something that scared me that bad, wouldn't you cry a bit because you're happy for me getting past it?" he asked. I told him, of course, I would, I just find it hard to imagine him scared of anything. "Well, I'll tell you everything when the duel's over ok?" with that he wished me luck and said he'd watch the duel on his buddy's TV. After that, I hung up and met my opponent. He was a pretty well-known kid in our town. I knew he was a good duelist but I just did my best and let it play out from there. I ran into a bit of a tight spot towards the end. My opponent has two powerful monsters on the field and only 1000 life points, while I only had my face down monster and hidden trap and 700 life points to my name. I knew things looked hopeless, but I remembered something Jaden told me when I saw him in a bind: "One draw can make or break a duel, but if you trust your cards and yourself? Then you're one step closer to winning." So, here I go: I close my eyes and put my trust in my cards, my friend's words and in myself as I drew my card. I opened my eyes and saw it was exactly what I needed! "Now I summon Magician Valkyria, in attack mode. Thanks to her special ability, my spell casters are safe from your attacks. That's not all because now my trap goes off: Bypass Security! You see if you have any monsters with more than 4 stars or 1000 attack points on the field, like right now? My Valkyria is allowed to go past them and attack your life points!" With that, the duel had ended and I won, I guess I was so happy and shocked my heart wavered a bit because I felt a slight jolt as I smiled with tears. "W-We did it. We really did it…" " _Thank you, Valkyria! With your help and the help from my friends, we won._ " I thought before telling my opponent he did a good job too, he said it was no big deal. He just wanted to have a fun and fair duel in a tournament.

Afterward, Pegasus congratulated me and ask if I could speak with him for a moment. We walked over to a private room and he showed me a set of 14 cards. I couldn't believe what he told me, these were the legendary Sailor Scout cards? He thinks that I set something off in them before the match? "The special symbols that are on each of them is unique to each scout, but these also keep their spirits in solitude. Only a special individual can undo them, and I believe that someone is you. Go ahead and touch one, see if I'm right." He said to me. I shyly touched one with multicolored crescent moon on it. The second my skin touched it in the slightest, it glowed softly and the symbol faded revealing Sailor Cosmos! The other scouts soon followed and Pegasus made sure to remind me "With great and powerful cards, comes even greater responsibility". I was just happy and honored they thought I was good enough. "Thanks, I'll take really good care of them," his nod told me he's sure I will. I had to admit, I am a little scared because I can feel their gloved hands, see their faces in transparent form, and hear their various voices but they assured me they have no intentions of ever leading me astray. They can tell I have a heart that is pure and good and is worthy of kindness for even the highest of praises, not for talent or skill but for morals and beliefs, or at least that's what they told me.

Before I left, I asked Pegasus to have the press keep my last name out of it. After explaining my reasons, he said he would do everything he can to help, but he can't make any promises. I said that was good enough and with that, I got home in time for a phone call from Jaden. I was happy to hear his voice, from what I could hear I was on speaker because I heard other people with him. Each gave their congratulations for my win and such, it really made me happy. I asked how his freshman year has been and he said it was definitely eventful. He's glad he enrolled but he can't help thinking things would be just as great if I was there. His warm and steady voice sounded like he really gave some thought to it "I know you aren't looking to make dueling your career, and I respect that. The best part about this school? Some of the students have different dreams that have something to do with dueling or were inspired by an experience involving it. I know it isn't your passion, even so, I think you'd like it here; but you do what you think is best for you. I'm saying this because I care, ok?"

I told him I was planning to enroll this fall, so far I've passed the written exam, with some difficulty. Now I just need to get past the field exam, and I might be in, I even impressed them enough to get a scholarship. Well, I'm glad to share this news with him. He said he looks forward to seeing me at school, I knew what he was saying without actually saying it. The school lets students who can't afford a way home or don't really have the best home lives to go back to during a break are allowed to stay on campus. I thought that was a nice plus to the school but I can't help thinking some students would take advantage of it. Well, either way, I'm determined to get in, not just to get away from my everyday life but because I want to get to know different people and learn different things. Who knows, at the very least I could make some new but lifelong friends and I'd be grateful for that.

Don't get me wrong, to me Jaden will always be like an older brother and a best friend but I would like to make new friends too. The fact I don't have any other friends here is because I couldn't risk making friends in town because of my so called parents. Now at Duel Academy, I could make new friends and be close to an old one too. To me? Dueling is a way to meet new people learn more about them, their interests, and their morals. You can also learn about yourself, express your own interests and morals. I usually duel for these reasons and sometimes to get some pent up stress out in the processes. Though I'd never stoop to deliberately hurting my opponent in the physical sense, let alone in an emotional. The only time I would ever think that hurting someone emotionally to be even remotely ok is if the person is purposely hurting someone else in any sense. Now I finally have a chance to show this school what I meant in my applicant essay, by putting actions and heartfelt emotions behind my words. Finally, I have a chance: hopefully, I'll make the cut, I'll do my best and let time and effort do the rest. So here I stand, I plan to put my best into it and play using both my heart and my head. Now I started by letting my opponent go first, a pretty simple set up. One monster with 3 stars and 700 attack points in attack mode and two face downs, so I check my hand. I have two of my new Sailor Scouts, two spell cards, and a trap card.

I could hear a little girl's voice come off my Sailor Mini Moon. She had pink hair that was done in small cone-shaped buns with fluffy pigtails at the end, her outfit was like the others: a white leotard, pleated mini skirt, a bow on her chest and one on her back where the top of the skirt is. Each scout had her own set of colors that are identifiable to her, but each had white sleeves that stopped shy of their arm holes but covered the skin on their shoulders & white gloves with a hemline that matched their most noted color of the two. They each had some kind of low-heeled shoe that they could run and fight in. Sailor Mini Moon's colors were baby pink, pale yellow, and bright red. The difference in her pleated mini skirt was the majority that was closest to her waist was white but the pale yellow blended evenly with the baby pink at the very end. Her low heel but knee-high boots were baby pink like her sailor collar that covered her shoulders, and heart shaped broach. Her voice was that of a kid "I may be small, but what I lack in size, I make for with my special talent. Play me and you'll see." she assured me. "Ok, I summon Sailor Mini Moon, in defense mood." (400 Attack/500 Defense). Her hologram's arms were crossed over her chest in an "X" shape as she kneeled. "And by sending one Spell or Trap to my grave, I can pick any Outer Sailor Scout from my hand and summon her. So I'll take Sailor Saturn, in attack mode. Her talent is when she's out and about, all Inner Scouts are safe from attacks. Now I'll place these two face down and send her into attack." She was about to strike but a trap was set off, Negate Attack. "Figures you'd use a trap, but I have one too: go Trap Jammer! Now my trap has canceled out yours. Ok, Saturn coast is clear." She raises her naginata, a staff with a single blade at the top end of her staff, and brings it down in a quick slash like movement. Her attack, Silent Sneak Attack, goes through and nails his points. "I'll just call it a turn for now." My remaining face down should work fine. As the duel went on, I was surprised to see how well I was doing with my new scouts. They worked well both with each other and my spellcasters. The Inner Scouts I had? Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon, Mini Moon, Mars, Jupiter. There was also a suave warrior who looked like a tuxedo-wearing Mr. Smith by the appropriate title Tuxedo Mask. Sure their points aren't very high but their effects and even combo attacks make up for that. My Outer Scouts? Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Cosmos, and Helios were all very powerful but they too have weak spots.

Now came the finish: He has 3000 life points, no face downs, and Gearfried the Iron Knight out on the field. He used his face downs to boost his life points back to 3000. Not bad, but all I have on my field are: Sailor Moon (1700 Atk/1800 Def) and Sailor Venus (1300 Atk/1900 Def), two face downs, and only 500 points to my name. I feel so sorry for Mini Moon, she was sent to the grave with Sailor Moon on the field. Sailor Moon looked at me, a sad smile on her face as her spirit told me "Mini Moon is always with me. She may not be on the field with me right now but a mother's love knows no limit nor end. I will fight to protect you, my team, and my daughter's honor." Her words reminded me I still have a trap from my last turn, "This move is one of family, so I activate my trap. When you sent Mini Moon to the grave you set off a powerful force. The love a mother has for her child, in this case? You may have taken Sailor Moon's daughter and the typical 300 point boost last turn, but in doing so you only knocked off 50 of the extra points Sailor Moon would normally get. But this trap gives Sailor Moon 250 extra attack points if Sailor Mini Moon is in the grave. Don't forget, my continuous spell: Sailor Tag Team let's all but one of my scouts deal with your monsters, and the last one deals with you, all at once! Sailor Venus? You've got a date with Gearfried!" Venus, Scout of Love and Beauty, has quite the ability. Once per turn, I'm allowed to control one of my opponent's monsters for one turn, then they're sent to the grave. The only downside is the monster in question has to be a 4 star or less and it has to have either less 1900 attack points or less 1300 defense points. I got lucky that this Iron Knight has only 1800 attack points and 4 stars or I'd be in trouble. Sailor Venus just turned, smiled while winking to Gearfried, and blew him a kiss, which turned into a heart-shaped projectile. Once it hit, I could send it to attack my opponent. Then the knight was sent to the grave, taking 1800 of his owner's life points with him. Now, this Proctor has only 1200 Life points and Sailor Moon was ready to go! Now Sailor Moon could go for the kill, thanks to Sailor Tag Team. It lets two or more Scouts attack at the same time on the same turn, one handles the life points, the others deal with the monsters. Sailor Moon's attack points, without any boosts of any kind, is 1700, so add in 250 from A Mother's Love? She's got 1950 points of power, more than enough to take his score to 0! "Good job, you passed. So let me be the first to say: Welcome to the school." He responded. I was so happy and I thanked him for a good duel and for his kind welcome. I just wish my ex could be happy for me but I knew he's unable to unless it's about him; which is largely why I left. I guess romance and painful pasts just don't mix very well; no matter how much the books, music, movies, and TV try to say otherwise.


	4. Chapter 4

Romance is defiantly multi sided: it can be simple and sweet yet full of life and understanding. It can be fun and passionate but serious and determined. These are what we typically think of when we hear about love or romance… but for some reason, people just have to ruin a typically harmless, pure, & good thing. By making it cold, petty, vengeful, forceful, sometimes abusive, & even sadistic. This was the cruel reality that I had learned the hard way. I honestly didn't care about outer looks so much, I wanted a person whose personality shined through. To me: the person's heart and soul amplify the outer appearance… good or bad. I had entered a relationship quickly but it seemed unnaturally perfect.

You see, I fell in love with a young man named Kyle Deskin: he grew up in a rough part of our town. He was fun, snarky, laid back but when shit's about to go down? He's calm but serious, acrobatic yet precise, somewhat cynical but protective. He was duelist who was a fan of cards that were based on steel cage fights, street gangs, and mafia swordsmen. He said it was because he could relate to the so-called thugs when underneath? They have families at home, they call each other brothers and sisters, and they're happy to help those with less than they have. He had an unusual love for swordplay and what he called "Breakdancing Brawls" it was basically when you fight while you break dance. He was a weapons enthusiast and had various weapons that were classic street styles. Now obviously were fakes, or at least that's what I've always thought and at least hope is true. He even had a sort of pet name for me, "Crimson" because of how I reminded him of a gemstone like a ruby or blood-red rose in full bloom. At first I didn't make a big deal of it, but as time went on; that proved to be a big mistake. His true reasons for these interests shined through. He had recently read a book series that was usually pretty easy to understand and follow till you got further in. It had a slew of inspiring and terrifying characters, plenty of great scenes, and so on. Kyle had recently started thinking of the love between him and myself as a blend between lively criminals and serious freedom fighters. Which only got worse when he joined the underground: a group of elite duelists who use sadistic and cruel ways to entertain their less than respectable audience. This pushes duelists to abandon things like honor, respect, and civility to win by any and all means which can cost a person their life.

I was allowed to see his try-out duel but he asked me to wear the cosplay he made for me. So, I donned the outfit of Blake Belladonna from the series we both liked. The top was white V-neck zip-up that looked a lot like a kimono. It was hemmed with black along the bottom and has mid-length sleeves. The belladonna flower emblem is printed in off-white on the left side of the shirt. I wore black pants that have a vertical gray stripe on the outer side of each leg, and I wore a black belt with them. Attached to the inner side of the belt is a black, somewhat curved, banner-like piece of fabric that hangs from the back and extends forward to her hips. On the underside of this is a thinner, longer, similarly-shaped purple piece of fabric. The black baby-heeled boots come halfway up my calves and have a pair of belted straps across them. I wore some soft black ribbons on my arms. To complete the look, I sported velvet cat ears that are held with a headband. This was the only part of my outfit that wasn't from Kyle. These were specially designed by Jaden's father, who was a cosplay designer that specializes in accessories. Jaden is like a brother to me and his father treated me like I was a part of the family. Travis Yuki specially designed these as a birthday gift for me. They moved in accordance to my emotions and thoughts through the band that held the ears in place. This gave me the appeal of a cat-girl like Blake but these were still just an add-on.

Even so, I wore them and felt a bit uneasy as I watched the duel: some punk called Mad Dog vs Kyle in a black metal cage with shock bands on their ankles, upper arms, and necks. Every point lost was a shock to their bodies but Kyle didn't seem phased. "You've got to be joking right?" he said to the ringleader, Shroud. This caused a hush over the arena, so he continued to explain "With all due respect, I do like the edge of the atmosphere, the cage is a nice touch. However, if you have to use something like these shock bands just to make your opponent fear you, well then what good is it? The way you look at them, the methods of dirty fighting, & the scenery should be more than enough." I couldn't believe this! Was he for real?! I saw him look into my dark brown eyes and his next words felt like they weren't his own. "Don't worry Crimson. Just like Adam kept Blake safe from harm; I'll do the same, just stay by my side." I felt a sickening stab of fear in my heart as I saw him finish the duel. Did he even read what Adam was like?! The character Adam was a reminder that monsters can exist in any form! Sure Kyle was a little jealous in public and tends to keep me around him so other guys would know not to flirt with me but this? I didn't know what to do; so for now, I just walked him home and wanted to help him understand my concern.

Once we were back at his apartment we talked a bit more. "Kyle… I have some good news though." His smile felt warm and pleasant but when I told him about the scholarship and acceptance into Duel Academy? My joy seemed to set something off in him. "So that's it? Are you going to leave me here? Betray me like I'm some weak rat that you picked up from the streets and nursed to health, only to be thrown to some scientists?!" he snarled at me. I backed up as I asked "What's wrong? I thought you'd be happy for me. I mean I'll still call you an-". At this point, he cut me off, "AND WHAT?! FLIRT WHILE YOU'RE NOT ON THE PHONE?! STUDY MORE THAN JUST THE GAME AND WHAT THEY TEACH?! REPLACE ME WITH SOME GUY THAT TELLS YOU YOU'RE PRETTY?!" He thundered at me, it felt like he was yelling but he wasn't. I was scared now; we were in the kitchen of his apartment when this happened. I tried to calm him down but he punched me in the jaw. I stumbled back a bit as I said in disbelief "You... You just punched me." He just looked at me and said in a calm but chilling voice "Yeah. Because that's what happens when you betray those you loved. You feel the pain that you caused them." I've told him before that I planned to go to Duel Academy, so why is it suddenly a problem?

I realized that I was in danger because, while his replicas were fakes, the knives in the kitchen weren't! He stood in front of the door and said: "You're not going anywhere until we sort this out." I immediately thought "Oh god, he's going to kill me if I don't get out of here! I need help!" I heard a warm and courageous voice whisper in my ear. It was the spirit of Sailor Mars! "If you scream for help, he'll probably try to keep you quiet. Just scream as loud as you can so he moves, then run for it." Without any argument I screamed at the top of my lungs and as loud as I could make my voice sound "KYLE! GET OUT OF THE WAY! SOMEONE HELP!" This did cause him to move away and I ran like the devil was chasing me. I managed to call 911 on my cell phone (that I was given by the home for runaways) & explain what happened as I ran back to my own apartment. They instructed me to stay there and DO NOT unlock my door until I heard the sirens. I did as I was told: I slammed the door shut, locked it, and moved something solid in front of the door. My heart hammered in my chest as I tried to pull myself together. I wrapped myself up in a blanket, sat down, and cried all I could. My scouts stayed close and reassured me that I was safe now. After what seemed like hours, I heard those sirens. Then I heard the officers knocking on my door. "Miss Kiari? If you can hear us then open up." Shakenly, I stood up, undid the barrier, and unlocked the door. After explaining everything, they told me that they'd assign someone to stay outside my home tonight, then an undercover cop to escort me to the docks where I'd be taken to Duel Academy. From that day on, I swore I'd never fall for a pretty heart and a pretty face at the first week again. First, my biological parents abused me, now I've been scorned and hurt by romance… clearly, love isn't meant for me despite my belief in its existence.


	5. Chapter 5

A few days later, I was on the next flight to Duel Academy! When we landed, I went to the main office to get some information on why my acceptance was delayed. I was just curious and honestly meant no disrespect. At the main office, I met a warm hearted woman named Ms. Fontaine. She's the headmistress at the girl's Obelisk Blue dorms, the nurse, the gym teacher, and the art teacher. She explained there was some slight debate about my scores: I got the harder questions and essay on my written exam 100% correct but the easier ones I got wrong. Whereas my field exam was near flawless, these differences caused some of the newer staff members to question my interests and where to place me. It wasn't anything against me as a person, though to be honest, I was a bit surprised by the results myself. She mentioned that she thought I should be allowed in because I did my best and passed my exams, and most of the staff agreed with her. So basically I only missed the first two weeks of the school year due to a debate over scores but they won't expect me to try and double up on any assignments I wasn't able to do because of circumstances I had no control over. I couldn't help feeling grateful and after I thanked her, I headed for my dorm. I was in the Slifer Red dorms but who cares? I'm just glad to be here and I have to admit, I look better in red than I would in yellow or blue. The Slifer Red dorms are easy enough to find: The building itself is basically like a mini apartment building with two floors only the stairs were on the outside, not the interior. The rusty red roof was also a dead giveaway but despite its run down exterior, it had a simplicity charm to it. Either, way wasn't it too bad in fact, it kind of reminded me of the home for runaways, orphans, and abandoned kids that I call home. They must have gotten an exterminator because there wasn't a single rat nor roach in sight, either that or Jaden was pulling my leg. He tends to do that to me a lot, so I just set to work. I had a small dresser to put away my clothes, I put my art stuff on the small bookcase near my window, and got my desk ready to go with the textbooks under the small movable lamp.

As I was just finishing up, I heard Syrus's voice from downstairs. He sounded upset, more than usual anyway. But when I went to see what's wrong, he seemed a little surprised. "Uh no offense, but who are you?" he asked shyly. I just giggled, I didn't expect him to remember me from the video chats. "I'm Crystal, I'm the girl Jaden would video call last year. You were in a few of them". He suddenly stammered over his words, I didn't blame him. The girl's uniform isn't exactly the most reserved, so thank goodness for leggings came down a bit shy of my shins. I could easily put some on under my red shorts that only came down a little bit above my knees, unlike some the other chicks here who sadly have to stick with the skirts that stop at the midpoint of their thighs. "Well anyways, I was upset because... well Jaden hasn't been seen anywhere in a while. I don't mean he's missing class or something either, it's like he just left. I know that can't be true though, I mean Jaden loves dueling. So why would he just leave with no reason?" Syrus looked like he might cry as he explained. I was surprised too, I wonder what caused this. Naturally, I asked about that and the truth came tumbling out. After Jaden's most recent duel, he said he couldn't see his cards. The rest of them could just fine, but something must have happened to Jaden himself.

Now it makes sense to me, Jaden must've left trying to see if there was something he could do to fix this. "Even so, we're still in a tight spot. Our dorm is at risk of being torn down because of some new teacher who thinks it's a disgrace for even existing." He said this with, if I wasn't mistaken, anger on his face. It wasn't suiting for someone as sweet as him, but then again everyone has hardships and days where they're angry about something. Bad enough our friend is missing or whatever you want to call it, but our dorm is at risk for being torn just because some new teacher didn't like it? I know I should've asked first but I just instinctively kneeled down, quickly pulled him close, and hugged him. I could tell he was really torn up about it but he didn't want to seem like a wuss. "It's ok, I'll fight with you guys to keep this dorm in place. It's our home away from home… more than that oversized, French meatball could ever understand." I knew who Syrus was talking about, Vice Chancellor Bonaparte. A short, ball (he literally looks like a ball in his torso) of a man who thinks he's all that. I let go of Syrus but rested my hands on his shoulders, a soft smile but a determined look in my eyes. "I'm sure Jaden's fine too. He may be a bit of a goof but he knows how to take care of himself. We'll just worry about our task, that way he'll have a dorm to come back to."

That helped him cheer up, but our little heart to heart was interrupted by someone I never met. He must be a new student like me well, either way, he had an air about him I didn't particularly like. His hair was a few black dreadlocks, he had dark tan skin, bulging biceps, and a bandana that had a dinosaur face printed on it. His Ra yellow jacket was like a deli mustard kind and the sleeves were ripped off. His voice sounded like an angry drill sergeant with some kind of southern accent. Normally I don't mind any kind of accent because I typically understand their speech, it's the person themselves I sometimes have an issue with. "What's wrong, Truesdale? Looking for a date? Or did you need a girl to hold your hand?" his light snicker implied he meant that as either a joke or an insult. I looked at this guy with a feeling of slight disgust, and I wanted to give him the benefit of doubt, but still, that was out of line. "Is it wrong for someone to give a reassuring hug when they see their far-away friend is upset?" He looked at me like he had just noticed I was there and was a girl. He, in return just stammered over his words. I'm guessing because he didn't know how to respond, so he just informally apologized for his behavior. I decided to reserve my call on him, we probably just got off on the wrong foot.

Later that day Syrus told me that guy's name is Hassleberry, and how he keeps trying to take his place as Jaden's best friend. I couldn't help thinking there's a bit of a difference in so called "best friends". I just smiled and told him honestly "What you and Jaden have is a friendship that can be defined as "brotherhood". If you have a problem and you don't know what to do? You know you can turn to Jaden for some help or just someone who will listen. Deep down, I know Jaden feels the same about you, why else would he act so protective of you? Now as far as the whole "best friend" argument goes? You're allowed to have more than just one best friend. I mean look at me, I'm his childhood best friend, you're his brotherhood best friend, and I think he sees Hassleberry as a best friend that he can be competitive with but without anyone getting hurt." I smiled as I ended with this "and I see you as one of my confiding best friends. Meaning I can talk to you about things I wouldn't share with others because I can trust you." I meant every word of it… I know he's a good kid and he just needs some love and self-confidence. After all, no one became the king of games overnight, despite the popular belief about Yugi Moto. Each and every pro started as a rookie. I'm sure that even Yugi Moto himself had some insecurities when he started out, but he got better because he had friends and family who loved and supported him every step of the way.

I proved this in my 3rd-period class: Crowler, the teacher from Jaden's entrance of the exam, was looking at me like he saw Jaden where I was sitting. He asks me to explain to the class what makes a true duelist. Is it luck, skill, or experience? I smiled and looked at him and replied with "Well, that depends. Anyone can be a good duelist but in order to be a true champ? You need to understand there are lots of things in place." Everyone stayed quiet and Crowler let me continue. "It's about more than just how the cards work or how they should be played in any case. It's about why you duel, how you treat your opponents and their cards as well as how you treat yourself and your cards, being able to learn from not just your wins and losses but your opponents too and most importantly learning to use all the parts of the game at the appropriate time. Powerful monsters don't mean much if that's all you have, using just spells and traps to strengthen your weak monsters is another train wreck, using only effects of any cards is yet another problem. Take the duel between you and Jaden for example. You relied too much on sabotaging and sheer power to win all while disrespecting your opponent and expecting him to give up. That's what lead you to your loss and his win. Or me, I have problems with my cards even though I respect them, my opponent, and have legitimate reasons. I haven't figured what it is just yet but I know that something is wrong with both me and my deck."

Again the room was filled with silence but I capped this off with a decent summary. "So basically to be a true champion? The first step is to understand that everyone loses sometimes, everyone gets replaced as "top duelist" at some point, learn from your own losses and wins but make sure to learn from those of others too. The second step is learning how the game works and how to play a card in any case you're in while making the most of them and lastly? No matter how dark and mysterious the history of this game is, whether or not you play for stakes or just a casual way to get to know someone? Always remember: Duel Monsters is a game, and games are supposed to be fun." For once, Crowler looked like he was impressed. His mouth may not have smiled or whatever but I saw in his eyes he was impressed I got this completely right. He slowly clapped his hands and said: "Despite my own personal irks and how it makes me slightly ill to say it out loud, you got every point absolutely right."

So the days went on and late summer started to turn to mid fall, but it seems like Crowler was only interested in promoting his ego as a teacher. He may have helped a bit with the Shadow Riders and he's trying to keep the red dorms in place if only to shut that pompous Bonaparte up, but that's the only thing I can give him credit and even the smallest speck of respect for. After all, giving respect at first is a reflection of your own character but continuous respect is earned, not demanded and least of all fueled by selfish desires. I can respect that he can plainly say that he may not like the students at the red dorms much, but that doesn't mean our dorm should be torn down! If anything it should be updated and such, not annihilated! That's like saying that of the three god cards (the Winged Dragon of Ra, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and Obelisk the Tormentor) Obelisk itself shouldn't be a god because it's mostly the "weakest" of the three. Sure Obelisk the Tormentor was the weakest of the three god cards but it was just as important for different reasons. Just like us students as Slifer Red; we stand out as people who may not have the best marks or the highest skills but we have good friends, dedication, passion, and we work hard to prove ourselves.

Which is why I don't understand this dorm color ranking system but whatever, I had something else to deal with. Lately, I've been having a weird dream: what I see is a planet with mostly oceans and beach but the sky? I could see nothing but stars, a neighboring planet, and its design! That's when I noticed the inhabitants: dolphin aliens? Sea-based Martians? And why is Jaden there?! As I watched my dream play out, I saw other alien-based duel monsters helping Jaden. In the end, I saw him in a duo-functioned boat. It was a motor boat that could also function as a rowboat… was this supposed to mean he's ok? I hope so because I couldn't stand the idea of him missing and never coming home safely. To never knowing if he's alive and safe or dead and gone, that's a fate worse than death in my eyes… Even so, I work hard and try to follow my own advice: focus on my studies, help my friends in any way I can, do everything I can to keep our dorm standing, and hope Jaden gets home safe.

I was ripped from my thoughts because I accidentally bumped into a girl in Obelisk Blue. Her uniform was white but with a blue hem around the zipper to her over shirt, the arm holes. Her skirt was like all the other girls in that dorm: a mini skirt in royal blue and low heels in dark blue, she has pale blue fingerless gloves. Her skin was a clear ivory, her long, straight, and dark blonde hair was well set off by her hazel eyes that were determined but mostly kind. She seems really nice but also gives off a confident aura about her, just like a summer rose: sweet, beautiful, but she has her thorns. She got back up and asked if I was ok, to which I responded by saying I was. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." She laughed and said it was ok because she wasn't either. I've seen her around the red dorms talking to Syrus and Hassleberry, and I was starting to wonder if she's the infamous Alexis Rhodes that Jaden told me about. "My name's Crystal. I'm kinda lost, so if you have some time, think you could show me where room 32-A is? I have a one on one tutoring session." She smiled and showed me the way, "My name's Alexis Rhodes by the way. So I'm guessing you're a freshman?" I told her I was and from there, we talked about the various classes, the students here, and the silly controversy over the dorm rankings. She even told me that as clean and such the blue dorms were, the students there were mostly shallow jerks who belittle the kids at Slifer Red. Plus most of the girls in her dorms were only going after guys who are rich, hot, and "pros" at dueling. When we got to the classroom, she was surprised when she saw the person here was Syrus. "What's going on?" she asked in confusion. I explained that I'm tutoring him on "Methods for Countering Stage Fright" and that we're hoping this will help him learn tactics to help him stay calm in a duel. She smiled and even helped out, explaining why Syrus was promoted to Ra Yellow. It turns out he had to duel a girl in Obelisk Blue named Missy who specialized in bug-type cards. Since he won, he was promoted from Slifer Red to Ra Yellow but he still has to work out some of his bigger quirks.

The three of us talked, laughed, and I even learned she has a big brother, Atticus Rhodes. He got held back a year for certain reasons, so he's really a third-year Obelisk Blue. Syrus told me he also has a brother named Zane and he graduated last year but lately, he hasn't been himself. I smiled and said to him "Syrus, you've got two problems. For one? You need to realize that you don't need to be as good as Zane to be a great duelist. You just need to be the best you can be and trust yourself. That's why you won against Missy after all. Secondly, it takes time, patience, and practice in order to develop any kind of skill. No one became King of Games over night, each and every pro started out as a rookie. I'm sure that even Yugi Moto had some insecurities when he started out, but he got better because he had friends and family who loved and supported him every step of the way, win or lose." That seemed to help him feel better but I started to understand why Syrus is such a nervous wreck, but he's healing and recovering. He's always been in the shadow of his brother and that has lead him to be scared of being left behind by the people he trusts. Now I may not have been in Jaden's shadow growing up but I know what it feels like: to feel like I'm being left behind by someone I care about. I asked if that was true, his simple nod and frown said it all. Out of sympathetic affection, I just put my arm around his shoulder and kindly nuzzled my forehead to his. "Hey, come on, Syrus. That won't happen, ok? Sure we may go our separate ways after graduation, but we'd never leave each other behind." I smiled kindly and backed off a bit. I could tell he was thinking Jaden might have already done this, but I told him that "Jaden isn't like that, he just was looking for a way to undo whatever happened to him." He seemed to cheer up and I couldn't help feeling that same sibling connection again, only this time? I wanted to protect and look out for him like a big sister would do for a little brother. I know he and I are the same age and that he has what it takes to a great duelist. So if some biological big brother can't see that? Well, then Zane can deal with it. I was happy to hear that Alexis, Atticus, Syrus, and Hassleberry were all staying in the Red Dorms to help keep it standing, not because of something stupid rankings but because of their friends who live there.

Later that night, I heard a soft shuffling outside my door, so I decided to get up and see what was going on. I caught a glimpse of someone heading to the woods but they're too far off to make out an outline. Once back in bed, I thought this over; recently Syrus hasn't been eating much & according to Bastion, a student in Ra Yellow that I met earlier? Syrus has been running off late at night too. Only now does it make sense: Syrus is out night after night looking for Jaden! I immediately got up, got dressed, grabbed a special pouch I take in emergencies, and put my shoes on before running after him. There's all kinds of animals on this island and I'm sure none of them are too friendly, especially when a stranger enters their homes. As I continued to look and look, I take a scrap of fabric or shred of old fashion scarf from my pouch and tied it to a branch as a trail marker. I had to make sure I didn't get lost but that I use these sparingly. These old scarfs and fabric scraps can be useful for trail markers, signal ends, cooling or cleaning rags, and tourniquets. While I do this, I keep calling Syrus's name, hoping he'd answer me. I found him passed out on the pathway, I checked him over for any bites or scratches. I found none but I heard something from the lake nearby… I grabbed a thick and sturdy stick and a decent sized rock, should I have to protect not just Syrus, but myself too. The one I had fit in my palm and weighed enough to throw but not do too much damage, I was hoping to just scare whatever it was off by hitting the ground if I need to.

What I saw next made my stop and stare; Jaden was trying to crawl out the lake. He must've gotten back and ended up lost in the woods, so he tried catching a fish… I only noticed his jeans, shirt, jacket, socks, & shoes over on the side. I was so happy he was ok that, after making sure Syrus was ok, I ran over and helped Jaden out. He was surprised to see me here, but I said we had to get back to the school and I knew the way. So while carrying Syrus on my back, Jaden and I made it back (while taking down my trail markers as we went) before anyone knew we were gone. I put Syrus to bed then made something for Jaden to eat. He, understandably, chowed down and but his eyes told me he was happy to see me. Once he was done, he asked how things have been, and I told him everything. The good, the problems, and finally ended it with "So that's what's been going on, and I'm just glad I can help in any way I can." He in response stated that he's glad I was able to help and concentrate, he's just sorry he wasn't here to greet me when I got here like he promised. I just smiled softly, as tears pricked my eyes, saying "All that matters is your home now, safe and sound". I was enjoying my first fall night here with ALL my friends at a good school, but I knew this was only the beginning. We had a few weeks to go and I met some "interesting" students. Soon winter break would be here and that was setting the stage for a new dangerous force that hid in an innocent disguise. It was white as snow but it HAD to go, permanently.


	6. Chapter 6

Now we're 3/4s of the year in; its early spring, a time of renewal and things waking up from their winter sleep. I saw the few flowering trees that were on this island had cherry blossoms in them. I normally love this time of year but the fact that some of our friends have joined this group calling themselves The Society of Light didn't help. To the unaware & untrained eyes, it looks like a school group but in reality, it functions like a cult. I honestly was surprised that they got someone like Bastion Misawa; he's smart, calculating, and mostly respectful. He has naturally greyish-black hair, greyish-green eyes, "healthy" pale skin tone, and speaks with a British accent. He mostly didn't care what others thought of his dueling. He believes everything in life can be explained with logic and such. I liked him because he knew he was good enough on his own and that his way of dueling isn't for everyone. That's what made him stand out among the rest of the kids in Ra, he was a genius and he was humble about it. Sure he tends to deny that he has crushes on a girl monster from time to time because "that's irrational, illogical and ridiculous" but he couldn't fool me. Either way, I liked him and didn't understand his sudden change to want people to notice him. He's considered a Ra Yellow, but he willingly left the yellow dorms to be with our friends in the Red dorm, like how Alexis left the Blue dorms because she was sick of the semi-toxic influences that she was constantly around. They were kind to me and our friends, I mean it was Bastion who told me that Syrus was running off late at night after all. Bastion, Hassleberry, Alexis, Atticus, Syrus, Chazz, and I all kept our dorm safe while Jaden was missing. Now only 5 out of the 8 of us remain the way we are, we weren't brainwashed and turned into zombified, cult following, stark white versions of our former selves.

First, one to get brainwashed was Chazz Princeton, a rich kid with jet black hair and dark gray eyes. He had a kind of smoker's voice (even though he doesn't smoke), pale skin, and a black trench coat from when he temporarily transferred to a sister school of ours, but now? He wore an all stark white outfit, then they got Alexis who had enough of this nonsense and tried to put a stop to it by facing Chazz, and the last one they got was Bastion who was feeling like he was missing something just because he couldn't wrap his head around how Jaden and I win without logic and statics. I felt so sorry for them because they knew something was wrong but this cult was able to manipulate them in a scary easy way. As if things weren't strange enough, our school was also holding a tournament as well. Professionals from across the globe would be here, most that I never even heard of and we'd be dueling for metals that show how far we got. So basically whoever won the most medals at the end would win the whole thing; while Jaden did like the idea and participated a little bit, we had a bigger task at hand.

I didn't bother joining the tournament but I did support my friends who did. Though I had to admit I was disappointed in the majority of my peers when this thing was announced; Syrus, myself, Jaden, Atticus and some new kid had joined for fun. But everyone else wanted to take Syrus on because he seemed to be the weakest duelist one the damned island. I was currently watching from a moderately high up staircase in the school's main building when a good majority of these kids started swarming him. I jumped down and landed in front of Syrus, I bent my knees and ended up kneeling like a knight does to show loyalty and respect to a valued member of their court. This was to ease the landing and show that I was serious. I heard the new kid say "Well that was quite the entrance; stylish, sturdy, and silencing." I ignored him as I stood and said "So this is how you all act on the first day of a tournament? Disgraceful. Just because the classes are lessened and we can duel more often doesn't mean you get to act like it's a free for all. If you want to pick on Syrus, then you have to get through me first." I felt like they were targeting him as an easy victim and truth be told they were, even Hassleberry. I glared at him in disgust and disappointment, before saying "I'll speak to you back at the dorm". I heard Jaden follow up "No joke, that's just low. You like picking on kids in who are considered low ranked? Then try picking on me!" Atticus backed us up with "And if you try cornering them by themselves, you'll have to deal with me, got it?" They all backed off and understood. Afterward, we told Syrus that we believe in him and that we know he has what it takes. So he should enjoy himself, besides we're not graded on these duels. I knew that was only half true because that's just silly but even so, he should worry less about winning and just have fun.

Syrus seemed better but also brought up a good point about those kids in the Society of Light, I just told him to turn those ones down and walk away. He's a good duelist but we don't want him ending up like our other friends. Jaden followed up with, "It's not that we don't think you can't win against them, it's just we don't want to take that big of a risk of losing a friend. Those kids were good duelists of different levels, skill sets, and talents, but they ended up broken by those creeps. I guess what I'm trying to say is it's not a lack of faith in you, it's a lack of trust in the students who aren't themselves. So until we get them straightened out, try to stay out of duels with them." Syrus seemed to feel better and thanked us for our support. I smiled and chuckled a bit while saying "You've stood by us despite being scared senseless how many times? Even when you were mad at us or you had other legitimate reasons to just leave on us, but you stayed anyway. That tells us how much we mean to you, so of course, we'd back you up too." I said before I hugged him a little.

I was glad I could help Syrus feel better but later that day, I sat down and read a story of two sisters who were best friends. One day a stranger came along and soon the elder sister who loved her little sister started to be a lot colder and seemed to enjoy causing her sister pain. I thought about how things had been and I was deeply hurt by how Alexis was turned against us. I mean, she treated me a lot better than most of the girls here, she looked past that stupid ranking system and treated me like I was her equal. Deep down, I know that's not the real Alexis saying and doing these things now, she's not cold and cruel like that. I could tell Jaden had a crush on her, even if he doesn't seem to realize it himself yet. I could tell she felt the same, no matter how much she said: "he's just a friend who happens to be a guy". This is something I can't help feeling envious of: she may not be able to admit her feelings but she's at least able to have nice daydreams about it. I've noticed this even if she thought no one was around too.

Now me on the other hand? I'm too afraid to find love a second time, but it was more than just my parents. A few weeks before I enrolled here, I had gotten out of a terrible relationship where everything seemed perfect but deep down I knew the guy was just trying to control me. I wasn't in love with him, I was foolishly in love with the idea that my so called knight in shining armor had come. But in reality, what I really got was a manipulative jerk in tinfoil. So I swore I wouldn't let myself be fooled and played like that again, never again! I know love exists and I have felt it before, but the fact I let myself miss the warning signs and I got hurt? I have no one to blame but myself and I can't risk that again or my thoughts on it might change for the worst. Either way, I still can't help feeling envious and sorry for Jaden and Alexis.

As for Bastion, he just wanted to be accepted. I mean sure he believes every little thing in life can be explained by science, math, and so on; but he honestly has traits that can help. Our team isn't whole without him, and now it's even less whole: we lost our feisty feminine fighter and healer as well as our strategist yet fun friend. I may not have liked Chazz but he did make things somewhat interesting, he was our snarky spite. Now, all we have is Jaden: our hope, Syrus: our cheer and medic, Atticus: our last resort fighter and a reminder of a reason to win, Hassleberry: our "tank" so to speak, and myself. I have no idea how I fit in but I don't care, this has to end!

Around lunch time the next day, I was out taking a stroll when I saw that new kid again. This kid has naturally silvery gray hair and bright cobalt eyes. He wore a grayish white suite but I knew he wasn't with The Society of Light. In fact, he was against them when he found out that the ring leader, Sartorius, was using him. His name was Aster Phoenix, he was considered a pro duelist but I don't think he's a pro. Well not yet anyway, he has the talent and skill of a pro duelist but he lacks the attitude of one. Hell, even Yugi Moto wasn't that uptight in a duel as a pro, and he was the world champ for crying out loud! If anything this Aster Phoenix guy reminded me of a warmer version of Seto Kaiba, but that wasn't my main focus for now. I saw he was confronting a tall young man in all black, he had dark teal-ish gray eyes and dark teal hair… was he Zane Truesdale? This was so-called "older brother" to Syrus Truesdale? I got my answer when Syrus came running up and warned Aster not to duel Zane. He sounded scared, more than normal, and after all his hard work to rebuild his confidence. Syrus decided to try and get some sense reinstalled into Zane with a duel. This wasn't good because I saw the electrodes they use in illegal underground duels. I knew because my so called dad was fond of such things and I remembered seeing them in my ex's debut duel. I knew these things can result in death if the duelist's cards are too strong, or should the emergency unlock clasps fail to function, or the duelist is pushed too far. It can cause cardiac arrest after the duel or later on in life, as well as a whole slew of health issues.

I had to admit Syrus had some real guts to endure all of this: every point lost was a moderate shock to the body, so 1000 points mean 1000 volts of moderate electricity sent to the body from the upper arm bands and neck collars. His cries of pain tore at my heart and I could tell Jaden was feeling the same but we knew that we had to trust Syrus's judgment. The only way he's going to improve his confidence is by facing this head on despite his fears. Hopefully, he can get Zane back to his old self and we have to let him. We'll be there if something goes a miss but other than that, this is Syrus's choice, not ours. He would have won if Zane hadn't tossed most of his cards just to power up his monsters and protect his own points. He didn't even grunt when he was shocked by the bands, hell he smiled. Was he enjoying this? How?! There's just no way that this Zane was the same one that Syrus both respected but was kind of intimidated by! Sad truth is that this was the same person and yet Syrus almost won against him. I saw Zane try to leave as Jaden checked on Syrus. I faintly heard Syrus say he was fine but asked where his brother was. I couldn't help feeling that this kid was just incredibly kind; but when Jaden screamed for help because Syrus wasn't able to stay awake and he was scared of losing Syrus? I knew that there was no way in hell that Zane was getting off the hook that easy.

I ran up and stood to block his path because I was beyond disgusted with him. He looked at me like he was staring into my soul, a classic scare tactic and I knew he was well built and toned. If he wanted to, he could do some serious damage. I didn't care, I loathe people who mistreat their family and friends. He did this to his own flesh and blood, he doesn't care that Syrus could die and he relished in his brother's pain. "Move it, kid, you're not worth my time." He said in a cold voice. "You want me to move? Then go over there and get your brother to help! I'm surprised such a strong yet kind person and duelist like Syrus could ever be related to you!" I wasn't letting him get away. "He lost and if he was smart? He'd punk out. If he dies, it's his fault. He should have backed out but didn't, he challenged me. He knew-". I could feel my blood burn as I cut him off "He knew better but he didn't 'punk out' because he saw that the old Zane was still in there! YOU saw he was suffering! YOU knew he was pushing himself too far! YOU should have stopped the duel! YOU are just as responsible for the effects of this duel as he is! YOU'RE JUST AS MUCH TO BLAME IF HE DIES YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR HUMAN LIFE!" I guess I let my emotions get the best of me & let them and body do my brain's job because I had just landed a powerful punch to him, right in his diaphragm. He was a bit winded before I realized it. I backed off, panting slightly, realizing what I had just done… I've never hit anyone before. Jaden put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me back a step. "Look, Zane, I'm sorry she hit you, but in all honesty? She's right about what she said." He told Zane before walking me back to the infirmary to check on Syrus. Jaden kept his voice down for now so he doesn't accidentally get me in trouble as we talk it over. "Listen Crysi, I know you were upset and I know you don't typically get physically aggressive but you didn't have to go that far." I felt like I screwed up big time but to be honest I can't stand how Zane treated Syrus. I know Jaden doesn't fully understand my udder detest for such things but regardless I understand his concern. He was worried about if someone from the staff saw: sure we settle our issues with a duel but most times it isn't something like this. I was just happy Syrus was ok and he recovered pretty quickly, but he was still worried about Zane. I still have trouble seeing what Syrus did, but I knew he was still in good hands with us at least.

At some point, I had the displeasure of learning that Aster had a big crush on me. He tried subtle love letters, he tried sending me a rose, and he even asked if I have someone I'm interested in. So I decided to humor him and go on one dinner date with him. I wore the only dress I had, a light blue dress with white cardigan, and low heels that may as well be flats. The whole date he treated me like I should have only the finest of things. Most of the night he spent trying to "woo me" with fancy but moderate means; music, dinner, flowers, candle & star light dancing but all of it felt too much. So while I understand this mindset? It's just irritating to me. Especially considering it felt like he was only now interested because I never payed attention to him. I hardly touched my food and tried to be nice with how I wasn't interested but he seemed to not take the hint. It wasn't till he noted I hadn't said a thing yet, "uh is something wrong? I just want tonight to be perfect for a first date." I could tell he meant it but my only response was "why are you suddenly interested? You didn't pay me any mind till now. So what's going on?". He nervously chuckled and said "well I have friends who can see the unseen. I told him about you and he thought you sound like the perfect match for me." I couldn't believe what I just heard… he only considered me now because he had to consult a friend? Wow. I looked at him with utter disgust and said "So let me see if I understand this; you only went out on a limb because your friend said I was perfect for you and not because _you_ wanted to ask cause you were interested?" he looked at me like he wasn't phased by this. He tried to dodge the question by making a joke about Baden. "Oh I saw what you said on tv, did you form that opinion because it was to sound cool? Or was it because 'your friend' thought would be a good idea and you didn't argue?" he looked taken back by that now, but he laughed nervously as I stood up to leave. I looked back and said "consider yourself formally dumped." Then I left for my dorm, changed into my pajamas, and curled up in bed.

As the days went on, we were able to get Chazz back but he is convinced that Sartorius got to Alexis by threatening her with Chazz's life and "out of true love" she joined of her own free will. Wow, that couldn't be further from the truth. We even managed to help Bastion and he decided he would take up an apprenticeship to his hero. Turns out Bastion's hero since childhood was a leader in science, physics, and was a professional duelist. He was pleased to take Bastion under his wing and I could tell this would help Bastion feel better about himself. Maybe this can help him see that some things can't be explained by just logic and that's perfectly acceptable.

I honestly was feeling better now that we got two of our friends back to normal. It would just mean more if I wasn't the only girl in red. Well, that's only half true; I still have my scouts and the few girl spell casters in my deck but it doesn't help much that only Jaden, Chazz, and I are the only people here who can see and hear them. Jaden and Chazz can only see and hear them where as I can even touch them but even so, I still wish Alexis was back. I tried talking to her old friends Jasmine and Mindy, but I soon started to see why it's hard to carry any kind of conversation with them. All they cared about was celebrities, fashion, cosmetics, and for whatever ridiculous reason, boys. I guess that's not fair for me to say, they've never known what it's like to not have worry about who's going to hurt you, or who's going to use your heart against you and if your clothes cover something that you don't like about your body yet if they still fit right; just like I'll never know those naive joys they have. At least with Alexis, I could talk to her about real life stuff: goals, heartbreaking problems, what being a girl should mean vs what most people think it means. What else can I say? I felt like if Jaden wasn't there, I could still talk to Alexis & Syrus about anything. I know Syrus is worried about Zane, and Alexis is stuck in the Society of Light. I know Chazz was brainwashed when he got Alexis into that mess but even so, hearing him boast like the way he does? Like it never happened and he's only half sorry? Oh, he's sorry that she's there and wants to play hero to her damsel in distress, but he's not sorry enough to own up to what he did to get her in there _BEFORE_ saving the girl? That just makes me feel sick, so by the time I got done with the day, I was exhausted and grateful to curl up in bed.

Oddly enough I could hear Jaden's voice through the wall. My bed was right up against my dorm's the left wall & I guess he was against the right wall of his dorm because of how clearly I could hear him. I could've sworn I heard him talking to one of my duel spirits, they have this little habit of wandering off because they want to get to know him better. I stayed as quiet as I could so I could hear them, and I heard Sailor Jupiter talk to him, her voice warm and had decent depth in it. "Listen Jaden: I think you should talk to Crystal, we've tried but she just won't say what's bugging her. I know she's happy we got Chazz and Bastion back." Her voice full of concern. "We just can't seem to get through to her, but we know she thinks the world of you" she ended but Jaden picked up "So you think that if anyone can get through to her, then I can? Well as flattered as I am Sailor Jupiter, I don't know if she'll tell me. But I'll do what I can." Now I know he won't let me be, not till I tell him about what's bugging me.

The next morning I told him how Alexis was the only girl student to be nice to me. She helped me feel a little bit better about myself, she helped me when he was still missing and would sit with me in a safe silence. When I needed someone to listen to a problem? She was there, so seeing her act like a totally different person? It's like I don't even know her anymore. I know that's not really Alexis talking but it still hurts. What I left unsaid is that despite my terrible experience with romance? Both guys and girls asked me for advice because most times it worked hell even one of Jaden's opponents, Game Show Bob got a few dates after I gave him some tips. Jaden listened like he did when we were kids, but then he did something I don't remember him ever doing. If he ever did, I was probably too frazzled to remember: he just held me close. He pulled me close to him so my head rested on his chest and his arms held me in a safe and warm hug. One hand was on the back of my head while the other was around my back. His voice felt warm, reassuring, and strong as he told me "Don't worry Crysi; we'll stop Sartorius for good and we'll get her back somehow. I know it's easier said than done but we'll stop him somehow, we'll get the Alexis we know back, and everyone else too. Ok?" I sniffled a bit as my tear fell and nodded, he just stroked my hair as if I was a child needing reassurance. His simple nod and him holding me a little tighter both told me it was ok for me to cry. So I did for a little bit before pulling myself together, and I felt better.

Sure enough, that afternoon we got the old Alexis back but when she asked if she won? Jaden lied to her and said she did when she really lost. This must've been tough for her too, so he decided to try and ease her stress as much as he could. Around dinner time I went to sleep early, I was so happy and relieved that I just wanted to rest. This whole thing was a lot to handle but I knew we had one more hurdle to jump: Sartorius. I was about to doze off but I heard Alexis outside my door. "I'm just going to see if she's asleep. I know I was brainwashed and even somewhat possessed, but I want to make sure my actions haven't heavily damaged her." I could hear the guilt in her voice, I knew she was upset. I got up and opened the door and smiled a little before saying "Hey". She asked if we could talk and after a few minutes, I just hugged her crying a little. "I'm just so glad you're back to your old self" She in retaliation hugged me back saying "A part of me knew I wasn't with my real friends and I wanted to get back. You guys are the best, even with everything that happened? You never gave up on helping me… I'm so glad to have fun but loyal friends like you" she held me for a bit. Then I just curled up in bed and she went to the spare dorm where she was bunking in for now. For the first time in months, I finally slept easy. I just hope Aster has someplace safe where he can rest his head; last I saw him was three days ago and he was on his yate, but I haven't seen him since we last talked, I just hope he's ok. Sure he was a jerk at first but that started to change and he seemed more likable and fun. I had only now noticed that my first year here was drawing to a close. I now realized it was mid to late spring but the soft & warm air smelled sweet as the fragrance of various flowers danced in the air and the clear night sky told me that summer was near. That means I would soon have to return to my own personal hell, but I didn't have time to worry about that.

Before we took on Sartorius, I relayed a plan to Jaden. I know Sartorius is possessed and I also know that what's controlling Sartorius is going to fight dirty. "I told Hassleberry to keep an eye on one of the former cronies while we handle the Light of Destruction. Chances are pretty good it'll use Aster as a means to an end. That's why I'll make sure Aster is safe, while you duel." Jaden's expression was saying three things: his smile said he's proud of how much I've grown on my own, the shine in his eyes told me he's impressed how he's looking at a braver and stronger Crystal, but the softness in his eyes? Those eyes said he's worried about my safety and Aster's too. "Ok Crysi. Let's show Sartorius that he's only half right." What he left unsaid I already knew: that some things are destined to happen and they do, while others are determined by our own hands and motives. Just as I guessed that creep was using Aster as a bargaining chip, the huge marble statue of Libra of Judgment. The hand that was on Sartorius's side of the field held the two keys to a satellite that can send the Light of Destruction to earth in massive portions. In the other hand, the one that was Jaden's side of the field was Aster. If Jaden wins, both the world and Aster are safe. If he loses? We're all done for but I knew there was more to it, I noticed some cracks in the hand with Aster's unconscious body. There were a few stairs to retrieve these keys and Aster. "Why that!" I knew we had our work cut out for us but I knew my plan would work. I just had to wait a bit before we put the plan into action and the decent sized rock I had brought with me was part of it.

It was towards the end of the duel and Jaden was doing well despite how dire things looked and Sartorius was entirely focused on him. This gave me the chance to get a vantage point and I threw the rock at the hand that held Aster as hard as I could. The statue's hand started cracking more and more, now time seemed to slow as our plan to stop Sartorius unfolded. "YOU FOOL! YOU'LL DESTROY THE PERSON YOU'RE TRYING TO SAVE!" Sartorius yelled with a laugh. I then heard that same sweet and strong voice from my dreams and when I was dueling in that charity tournament… the one that vowed to always act as my sword and shield. "He's wrong Crystal. Trust me, I will lend you the power you need to save him. Now, focus on your task and save your friend!" I did as I was instructed and focused, my legs felt light as a feather as I ran half way up the stairs. I could feel whatever Sailor Earth did surge through my legs as I leaped off that ledge, grabbed Aster, and used a tuck and roll with my side taking the landing impact at first hit. Thankfully after we landed and Aster was safe, I saw that his hair when back to its usual silvery grey and he didn't look like he was pale as a fresh white sheet. He was even starting to wake up a bit. I was glad I could help, but Jaden was the one in trouble now!

I saw him get knocked flat on his back, normally this wouldn't worry me because I've seen him get knocked around by real-life bullies and dueling in general but he wouldn't respond to us. I instantly thought something terrible but I heard someone else. A man's voice that was brave, true, and sure of things. It sounded like that dolphin creature I saw in my dream, Aquaos. "Jaden isn't dead, he's just getting some advice and reassurance from a close friend, that's all. Look, see for yourself." That's when I understood, the person helping Jaden right now was that Neos hero. He was helping Jaden while he was down! Sure enough, the Light of Destruction was sealed away and the real Sartorius, the entire world, hell even other worlds were all saved. I was so happy and proud of my brotherly friend that I started crying a little, he asked if we were ok and we said we're alright. The congratulations were had but life had one more twist for my first year here.

After the duel, I had taken Aster to the nurse, Ms. Fontaine. She asked if I was ok too, I told her I was and she tended to Aster. So I headed back to my dorm, I looked around and saw my Sailor Scouts alongside my spell casters were there in spirit form. They were happy to see me and we talked a bit but the nagging pain in my side wouldn't leave me alone. Sailor Cosmos: the tall, beautiful, and loving woman who helped me when I had that nightmare last year? She looked at me with her lavender-blue eyes. Her platinum-white blond hair was done up in two small buns, that had ankle length pigtails that connected to her hair buns. In these hair buns were lavender gems that had silver surrounding these gems in her hair. Her outfit was like the others, but lavender and white but in the very front pleat was a starburst looking pattern. It had long slash points that came to meet at the hemline and each of these slash marks was a different color. Representing that each soul has a unique gift and it's helpful, but when all together? It creates a powerful force.

She looked at me in concern and after a few minutes of "nagging", she convinced me to go back and tell Ms. Fontaine the truth. I told her and she said I was lucky that I didn't break any bones. She said I only badly bruised the muscle in my upper arm but I should avoid gym until further notice. Till then I should ice it on and off for the remainder of this evening but other than that I should be fine. "Although… where did these bruises and scars come from? They look older like they're embedded into your skin". She's good, she noticed the differences and I lied. I told her that I often did self-defense in middle school. Well that's a half lie, yes I did take up self-defense but that's not where these came from. She either believed me or she was too kind to say otherwise but either way, she said I was ok to go back to my dorm.

As I did, Sailor Saturn, Scout of Silent Destruction wielding the power of Death and Rebirth, appeared beside me and we talked stuff out using our thoughts. She was about as tall as me, (the top of her head came up to the top of my shoulders) and she had jet black hair that was straight that stopped just shy of the tops of her shoulders. Her colors were dark purple with black for her two bows. Like the other scouts, it had a vertical oval gem at the point of it and was similar gems but in their respective colors. Unlike the 9 Sailor Scouts, her gem was a white one. Sailors Cosmos, Moon, and Mini Moon all had a pale yellow crescent moon in theirs but that's because they're all the heirs of the Moon family. Saturn also had planet-with-rings earrings that had dangling spikes. Like her fellow scouts, she had a choker that is in her respective color and a golden star on it and a heart shaped gem in the center of her chest bow. These two were the same purple as her skirt.

Saturn looked at me saying that she's glad I listened because she was really worried. "Crystal… you have a real gift, we chose you for a reason after all. You see, we need someone who knows the importance of morality in any situation. We sensed that you have been through a lot and yet you used that pain for the right reasons: to prevent others from being hurt like you were or worse, by acting as a shield for them. You had every reason to become bitter and hateful but you chose to understand and even reason with others. However, you also know that sometimes people are so far gone you can't do much but understand yet never condone their actions. That's a gift, one that can unite others but be aware that too much of a good thing can be deadly. I may be the Scout of Destruction but only because when push comes to shove? I make the unpopular choice to end everything in one silent but existence shattering movement. I use this power wisely and it doesn't come from my own existence, it comes from my weapon that only I can control. My silent glaive, if I use its tremendous powers at full potential? I risk putting an end to all life, which is why I avoid it as much as possible. I never lose faith in Sailor Moon and her potential because she can undo the damage that was caused. But what the Light of Destruction did was just plain evil while hiding in the guise of something that's normally seen as pure and good."

Her words were warm and calming, wise and reassuring for someone so young but I still think they made a mistake. I'm nothing special: I hide my bruises, I lie about my hidden pain, I never confront the source of this pain, and above all, I keep these from my best friends. I don't want to drag them into it… "Here's a news flash Crystal: they show up and stay _because_ they're your friends. They stay because you'd do the same for them, like with Jaden. He didn't want to involve you in that duel with Sartorius, but you stayed anyway. You're always putting others needs ahead of your own _by choice and moral obligation_!" Now Sailor Mars, Scout of Fire, was giving me some truth on something. Her outfit was red with purple for her bows, and just regular red heels. She had a red vertical oval gem in her v-shaped circlet tiara, and her star-shaped dangling earrings were red her choker, and bow gem were too. Her eyes were a purple with tiny hints of red to them, and her hair was raven black and came down to her knee caps. Her voice was mildly high in pitch. Just like the fire she uses, she can be warm and soothing but she can definitely be more assertive and spontaneous with her speech when she's irritated, like right now. She had a point, but how can I possibly tell him? He's already got enough of a bullseye painted on him because of how he's able to defeat these baddies, _without_ my backstory adding to his reasons to protect me.

Once back at the dorm, I overheard Jaden talking with another girl who only recently joined the Slifer Red dorms. Her name's Blair and she's got natural medium blue hair, light brown eyes, and a friendly, feisty, (and even flirty) personality. She asked Jaden about me and he told her a bit and said he's impressed with me. "It's nice to see her smiling and having fun. I just wish she could have smiled more like this when we were kids." He said as he explained a bit about our history. Oh, what little he knows " _and it's best it stays that way, I'm so sorry Jaden._ " I thought as I headed to my room. I have to admit, the last duel spirit I was expecting to see in my humble dorm was Elemental Hero Neos. He was leaning up against my desk like he was waiting to talk to me. "You must be Crystal Aura Kirai. Such an ominous name for someone so kind and selfless. It means 'Clear Energy of Hate', correct? Yet you have such a loving and courageous soul." How he knew that was probably from Jaden, oh well. "Yeah, and your point is? I'm sorry… Listen I don't mean to be rude but I'm just tired and it's been a long day." he nodded to my response and apologized for his own lack of courtesy. "You showed up in my dorm for a reason, so go ahead and say it. I'm willing to listen." I said before he could leave. He explained that he was wondering why I said what I did when I was outside Jaden's dorm. I guess I had a confused expression because he explained: "You see, like the other duel spirits, I'm able to hear the thoughts of others who are closest to my friends and allies." He went on to say he would like to know what it is I'm keeping from Jaden. "I'm just looking out for both Jaden and for you." I looked at him…with no mouth and hardly any changeable expressions to his face, it's impossible to tell if I can trust him wholeheartedly. So I just said "Thanks for the concern, but I honestly can't tell you because I don't want trouble to go finding Jaden." He nodded and left.

As I lay in bed sleeping I had a terrible nightmare: everyone I cared about, they were lying unnervingly still on the ground. I saw my scouts turned into crystallized versions of themselves, and someone I had never met before. He was different and he looked more like he was merely asleep. Before I could figure anything out, I saw a monster I hardly recognized but I knew its voice. It had Jaden on a greenish-black glass cross, but when the monster turned to face me? I saw one-half was my mom's face, the other my dad's. I stared in horror as I heard this, the voice belonged to the monster but the face moved as my so called parents said: ' _Thanks to Yu, we can tear your dreams and your friend apart! If you're too scared to face your fears, then you're too scared to stop us from destroying your dream of the perfect family! Now all that pain you harbored is twice as bad for you but he'll feel only the original_!" with that I saw it happen. I heard him scream in sheer, primal terror and agony as black flames that emitted a purplish-blue smoke swirled around him. The smoke covered his entire body and the flames burnt his clothes.

I felt someone shaking my arm but I couldn't tell who it was, then I finally snapped awake and ended up sitting upright. I was sweating a bit and I was trembling as I tried catching my breath. Once I was calmed down, I saw that the person who woke me up was Jaden. "It's ok, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere," he said as he sat closer and put his arm around me. Once I had calmed down enough to speak, he looked at me and said sternly, "Now there's no point in telling me that you're ok, because we both know you're not. One of your scouts came & told me you were crying and shivering in your sleep. So what's wrong, and I want the truth. Not just what's on the surface?" his voice was firm but calm. His eyes where steady and told me he wasn't kidding around because of how worried he was about me. So I just told him and he asked what my parents had to do with it. "Because they… they used to hurt me… they'd hit me, they'd yell horrible things at me, they'd throw me to the ground. It's been that way ever since I was 4 years old." I ended up crying like one of those girls in a TV show where she just saw her loved one die. Sobbing as if all the built up pain had nowhere to go but out, but not in a hysterical sense.

Once my tears ended, I saw that he looked like he was shocked as hell but finally understood. I just said "The only dream I ever had, that never died in the face of reality, was finding a family that would love me like a family is supposed to. Sure they wouldn't always love what I do or say, but they'd still love me as one of their own… I know that can never happen but it's the only thing that's kept me stable all this time." He just looked at me like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why didn't you just tell me this before?" he asked like he was hurt. "I didn't say because I didn't want to add to anything you were already dealing with, I was just happy I could help out. See before I found someone who understood what it was like to be alone and scared, I felt like I had nothing to keep my dream alive. When I met you and we became close despite the problems with the other kids? I felt like I could have even the smallest piece of happiness. Basically, you were saving me with all the small things you did for me. I found an outlet in the arts and in dueling but I understood that in the pros, people sometimes got hurt." My face still held a frown but I guess my eyes weren't so bad. "And that's why you hold back so much, you don't want to hurt others like you were hurt." He basically summarized my whole life and why I fight back at all. "I understand all of that but why didn't you tell me about this? I wouldn't have just stood by and let them hurt you" he said this but I doubt he understood that he and I were only children then. "I just didn't want to worry you, so I kept it to myself. As time went on, I became mostly numb to physical pain from things that would bruise badly. So I just thought if I kept it hidden then I wouldn't burden anyone." The memories were numbing but I knew Jaden was right there and I felt safe.

He looked like he wanted to know everything that was going on. "Where did they hit you?" he asked. I looked down at my sleeved arms… under these were my bruises and a few scars. Whenever I wore just a tank top, I wore removable sleeves. A dress that shows my arms? I wore a long sleeved cardigan. A t-shirt? I wore a long sleeved one under it. I wore loose pajama shirts or pajama cardigans to cover these. I had a tank top under my long sleeved shirt; so I just undid my outer sleep shirt and showed him. My arms had handprints all over them, I lifted my shirt up just under my breast bone and again: more bruises and even a few faded scars on my sides and back. That's all I had and why I kept myself covered, after that I just put my over shirt back on. I felt shameful, exposed for the coward I was. Jaden just quickly but gently pulled me into a hug. Just like before… it felt warm, safe, and calm but "Jaden… are you crying?" I asked because I felt his shoulders rise then fall a bit as he held me. I could feel something wet on my neck as he hugged me close. "Of course I'm crying… I'm crying because I wish you would have told me sooner. You're such a kind person, but you never ask for much in return. You're a strong and selfless girl and I can't believe I didn't act sooner when I saw something was wrong. But don't worry, you're not alone anymore; I'll- "NO! No, I don't want your parents to get involved in this. They have enough to worry about." I knew he was going to say: he'd talk to his parents because they've always thought of me as their own daughter. They even gave me small gifts for birthdays and Christmas because of how close Jaden and I are. "Crystal, listen to me: it'll only get worse unless you let us help you. You've always been there for me, even when I got mad about something. You were the only kid in our neighborhood who stayed by me when things were messed up. So I made sure to help you with whatever you had to deal with. Sure I didn't always know how I could help but I did my best. I also made sure the bullies would leave you alone. Don't you remember that?" he asked me. How could I forget; I was in 7th grade and he was in 8th, some kids were making fun of me because I was an "early but steady bloomer". They were saying horrible things and catcalling me like I was some easy and loose person with no self-respect. Jaden saw this and heard what they were saying, so he stood up for me. "What does the size or shape of her body have to do with the size of her heart?! Maybe if you guys spent more time getting to know a girl and less time seeing what you can get from her or how far you can get with her, you'd understand! What if she started making fun of you because you're more heavy-set than toned? You'd feel pretty upset too, so leave her alone! If you want to pick on someone, then try picking on me!" he always stood by me and I stood by him. "I never just sat back and let others hurt you and I'm not starting now, so don't worry. It's not a burden at all because I know you'd do the same for me; not because I'm a great duelist but because we're practically family. So don't be afraid to tell me if something is wrong or if someone is hurting you" I nodded and together we told his parents what was going on.

A few months later, my name went from "Crystal Aura Kirai" which meant "Clear Energy of Hate" to "Crystal Aura Yuki" and it means "Clear Energy of Courage and Happiness". Hell, they even gave me a small gift as a way of saying "Welcome to the Family"; a pair of small and short dangling heart-shaped earrings in gold. I felt like that wasn't necessary but our mom said she wanted to give something special to an equally special girl. She thought these would be a perfect gift and a reminder that they've always thought of me as family and they always will. What I didn't know at the time was that something had awakened within this moment, miles away from us but would eventually find its way to us. I had no idea what it would bring, what my heart and soul would be put through, and all for the sake of family and romance.


	7. Chapter 7

Now it's the start of my second year of Duel Academy, whereas it's Jaden's third year here. I'm still adjusting to my new last name but I'm still myself, just a little happier because I have a real family now. I had finally gotten exactly what I always dreamed of: I have a family that loves me for me and more importantly, I'm safe now. Sure I would still have to do job shadowing or training before I could be considered ready to find a permeate apartment and such, but they'd help me as much as possible. All they asked is I do my best and tell them when something is bothering me. I'm safe now and they'll always be there to act as a safety net. That way, should I fall while I practice using my wings? They'll be there to catch me, help me recover, and encourage me to get back up so I can try again. Jaden and I are in the red dorms again but I honestly don't mind. I've seen how high your grades have to be along with the grade average. So I know how tough to meet and maintain the criteria for the next dorm up. Sure Ra Yellow isn't that hard to do but if I proved good enough for Obelisk Blue? The amount of perfection they expect is just sheer insanity, we may as well be expecting the students to be robots or divine beings! This was all very true but the reason I don't try to get into the next dorm up is simple: because I don't want to be around toxic influences. I also know as soon as I move up all the other students would beat down and be raid my brother and our friends more than normal. I could hear them now "Jaden and the others are still in Red and Yellow but Crystal is in Blue in just her second year! Guess she's not nearly as much of a slacker as her so-called friends. Jaden had a chance to be one of us in his first year but he's too weak and lazy" I wasn't about to be around fakes and flakes like them. If they want me, they have to earn not just me, but my friends and family too! Sure I'll keep my promise to a teacher to drop by the Ra dorms for tutoring others and helping in whatever way I can, but I honestly don't want to be around toxic influences more than I have to be. So when I found out we'd have four new students, each one representing one of our four sister schools? I was a bit concerned but decided to be friendly but cautious. I just sat with my brother Jaden and Hassleberry while we were going through the "annual start of the year" pep rally. While we were waiting for it to officially start, Jaden told me he met a new transfer student who can see monster spirits like we can. I couldn't help thinking " _Oh boy, this will make things both interesting but complicated"_ as I listened.

First up for intros was the rep from East Academy, Adrian Gecko. He was tall, muscular, moderately skin-toned, had grayish hazel eyes and reddish purple hair. His shirt had the same basic design as our school only brown but in an orange-ish color trim to it. I couldn't help noticing his ears reminded me of a statue of Buddha that I saw in a book once. I had no clue what kind of necklace he had because it was mostly made of large black beads and had a black tassel attached to the middle bead. It's looked like something a head priest in Shinto or Buddhism would wear. Up next was the rep from West Academy, Axel Brodie. His eyes had this dark amber-hazel color to them, his hair was jet black, layered but fanned out; kind of reminded me of a fresh, stiff and crisp mop head that hadn't been broken in yet. I could tell he was from African decent and unlike most of the students, he was sporting a red tank top and black sleeveless vest and pants, and combat boots. His gold pendant was something I have never seen before, so it might be a family heirloom. He gave off this air of "You mess with me or my own, you'll regret the day you were born" to him. He didn't even seem to be thrilled to be here, so I made a mental note of being cautious around him.

The third guy in the group was Jim "Crocodile" Cook, from South Academy. He jogged in carrying a crocodile over his head, I knew it was real based on how its legs and tail weren't flopping around like they would be if it were a plushie. Everyone else seemed to think it was a fake based on how still it was. I guess the reason was because it felt safe around Jim, even in huge crowds; otherwise, it'd be trying to attack others and wouldn't have been allowed here at all. Now I could tell Jim was from Australia based on his accent and the typical lingo. I had to admit, I liked his style: his knee high boot, dark jeans, light beige button-up top with long, slightly loose sleeves, an orange bandana that was lightly tied around his neck and black-brown vest all said he's good to go for class or field work. His hat kind of reminded me of Indiana Jones, but that drew my attention to his face. He has black hair that kind of flared out to the side in spikes, he had a kind and intelligent smile, his left eye was dark teal and looked like he had a fun and welcoming personality (though I'd hate to see him upset or angry), but his right eye was bandaged up. I guess he was in some kind of accident as a kid or whatever, so he keeps his eye covered up to avoid accidentally scaring anyone. Either way, I thought he was an ok guy which brings us to the last rep.

Jesse Anderson from North Academy, the same school Chazz had transferred to in Jaden's freshman year but came back from. Hopefully, this Jesse guy isn't a jerk like the students who visited for the school duel in Jaden's freshman year. I only know that from what my friends told me and what I saw in the clips they showed me from that day but I'll only be able to judge when I see for myself. Chazz, being up to date with the latest gossip about duelists and such, clued us in about how Jesse's deck was based off of legendary Crystal Beasts. He went on to say that Jesse won them in a tournament hosted by Pegasus when everyone else was willing to offer billions for these cards. The story seemed believable to me: I mean some duel spirits are very choosy about who they connect with. I mean I was chosen by my scouts and they're one of a kind, so maybe it's the same with this kid and his beasts. Only now did I noticed that someone showed up a bit late, he apologized for that and explained that it was because he got lost. I honestly couldn't help giggling because I could relate, I got lost a few times too. He stopped by the row Jaden and I sat in, as Jaden said he recognized him. I saw this new kid was wearing an Obelisk Blue jacket that was above-waist-length with dark blue outlines, a light lavender shirt with frilled cuffs at the wrists of his sleeves, and black pants which are held up with a white belt. His teal hair jutted in backward and downward directions but his eyes were a unique shade of green. They were warm and fun like a tropical sea, but bright and clear like emeralds. I think the term would be, appropriately too, emerald sea green. I had to admit, they were kind of cute and held genuine kindness to them. They chit chatted back and forth a little before he embarrassedly and, if I wasn't mistaken, shyly introduced himself as Jesse Anderson. His voice was warm and friendly; I noticed he had an accent that was a nice blend between a southern gentleman and southern rebel to it. I could tell that he was athletic and energetic, but his voice and actions told me he was kind and thoughtful. He seems pretty cool, based on his behaviors around the other reps. He was a bit thrown off by Adrien's sarcastic comment, Axel's tight-lipped ways seemed to make him a bit uneasy but he nervously laughed it off, he was friendly with Jim and reacted in surprise to the croc Jim had. I had to do my best to muffle my snickering. I guess I sounded like I had sneezed and coughed at the same time because Shephard had said "bless you" while glancing at me. The truth was I couldn't help finding it funny when I heard Crowler exclaim "Please tell me that was your stomach". It only confirmed my thoughts that the croc was real and had just said "hello" to Jesse, which caused him to react in surprise. I managed to make it look like that was the truth, especially to the last person was Professor Viper. He was a professor at West Academy, the same academy that Axel Brodie attends. He came off as a cruel military man and just outright evil that hides in the shadows. I didn't like what I saw or the feelings this guy gave off, I looked around at my classmates and saw some them felt the same. Though I did kind of like the idea of seeing one of the new guys in action, just turned out Jaden and Jesse would duel.

This would be interesting: Jaden's humanoid heroes against Jesse's crystal beasts. Though I couldn't help noticing the similarities between Jesse and the guy in my dream, and how similar Jaden and Jesse's personalities and such are. I don't know why but I kind of liked how much of a dork Jesse was. Even when some students got mad because he admitted he doesn't have the card that he was going to play, namely because it doesn't even exist yet. I had to mentally slap myself while thinking " _No! Bad Crysi! Bad! You can be friends with him, but that is it. You've been through enough and only now are you starting to get your life on track."_ After the duel I saw one of Jesse's duel spirits, Ruby Carbuncle run up to me. Her voice was high and somewhat squeaky but cute as hell, kind of like a kitten; a kitten with purple fur, solid red eyes, and a huge red orb on the end of her tail. I could feel her nuzzling against me because she just wanted to say "hi" but that wasn't the issue. As I guessed, Jesse decided to see where she ran off too "Hey Ruby, who's your new friend?" this wasn't a surprise considering I saw him and Jaden talking to their monsters during the duel, and I could do the same. Still, I wasn't too keen on saying so right away. "My name's Crystal, I'm Jaden's little sister." His smile was warming and his laugh sounded nice. "You two twins or something?" I just said that we were childhood friends but his parents adopted me last year." I left it at that and mentally slapped myself again for it, I shouldn't be saying this right off the bat! Even so, I decided to be nice, no matter how much my feelings may try to say what I'm trying to hide.

That night I was looking over my own cards when I felt Sailor Neptune's presence. She's the Scout of Intuition that's deep as the Sea. Her medium teal hair and dark blue eyes were appropriate for such a scout. She can see past illusions and is very wise but she has a sense of humor. Her voice was a mix between high in pitch but calm and loving like a mother when she either jokes or scolds, but there is depth to her speech when she's upset. Like a few of her fellow scouts, she tends to have a few light but more "adult" based jokes hidden in her teasing and playful tone. She typically avoids using those but she does sometimes say them at the least of appropriate times. Her tool of choice is her mirror that not only reveals visions and warnings but it also reflects attacks and dispels illusions. Her uniform colors consist of dark teal for her skirt, glove ends, ankle length heels, choker, a heart-shaped gem in the center of her chest bow and her vertical oval shaped gem on her v-shaped circlet. Her chest bow is a near-black navy blue as is her back bow and she has seafoam studded earrings. For some reason, she and Uranus (her lover who was also her cousin) had wrist length gloves, whereas all the others had gloves that came up to the middle of their upper arms. Either way, she must've noticed how I was acting today because she said "Well he seems nice. So would it kill you to let him in, even a little bit?" I just answered with "Yep, and I'm too young to die." She softly chuckled at my comment, she knew I didn't mean that. "Why don't you give him the benefit of doubt, like you did with all your other friends?" I knew that she meant, I'm not typically this nervous around anyone. I just responded with "It just seems different around him somehow."

Our little conversation was interrupted by the fact we overheard Jaden and Jesse laughing next door in Jaden's dorm. I just decided to go over for a bit, "Hey guys, sure sounds like you two are having fun. Mind if I join you?" they said they were ok with it. So I sat down on the floor with them and the subject eventually got to duel spirits. Jesse explained that his crystal beasts are pretty much his family because of how they chose him and not the other way around. Jaden explained that he didn't think that his Neo Spacians were really real at first. He thought that he kind of dreamed them up as a kid, but he learned he was wrong and they even found their way back to him. He went on to explain what he meant by that and either way, he's glad they're his friends. While I listened, I couldn't help thinking that I was somewhere in the middle; I was chosen by my scouts, who just so happen to be guardians of our galaxy and daughters of divinity, roman gods & goddesses to be exact. "So Crystal, I heard you have some new cards. Mind talking about them?" my brother asked. That kid doesn't miss a beat when it comes to me or duel decks, so I just laughed and said I did. I took mine from the case I have them in for safe keeping, and both guys looked amazed by the scouts. I could tell Jesse was impressed by them "These gals are a lot like my beasts; they may look weak but what they lack in strength they make up for with their special abilities." I couldn't help smiling.

First time I heard someone who wasn't close to me say something nice about my scouts. Most people call them weak or lame because of their uniforms and that they're weaker than my spellcasters. So hearing someone looking past that and saying something nice actually helped me smile a little. I noticed his Amethyst Cat was looking at me, her (appropriately colored) eyes that were friendly and warm, well at least now anyway. I knew she could speak in like us humans do but she seemed to be thinking things over for now before deciding to sleep for the night. Jesse only then noticed where I was looking, and realized that like him and Jaden "Let me guess, you can see and talk to duel spirits too?" his slight laugh sounded like he was happy to meet a girl who shared this gift. After a little while we decided to call it a night; before I left though, I overheard them talking about one last thing. "Ya know Jay, I can't help thinking you're lucky" and Jaden's slightly confused response to it was understandable. "You're lucky to have someone like Crystal as your sister. She seems like a really sweet but strong girl". Jaden's next words kind of surprised me, "Believe me, Jesse, you don't know the half of it. What I do know is this: she has a big heart and loves many. It just takes a lot to reach her heart because of her past, but once you're there she'll fight for you with everything she has. It proves you're a special person to her. Trust me, if you manage that, then you're a lucky person. Which is why you don't want to lose that place." I went to bed but those words and his tone seemed to stick in my mind but I was too tired to think much of it.

While those words from last night did surprise me, almost as much as what happened that morning (although I hope he doesn't mean Jesse specifically and Jesse doesn't think that Jaden means him.). Turns out Professor Viper decided to test the students here with something called Survival Duels and how we're graded was based on decisions, fighting spirit, and so on. If we got a poor score, we were demoted a dorm but a second low score? Expelled. I couldn't help thinking that the students in Red were in the worst case: we're the lowest rank so if we get a low score we can't get a dorm demotion. Wow, this guy is an ass but I decided to do my best until I heard how these duels were to be monitored: with wristbands that were called Bio Bands. That immediately set off all kinds of alarms in my head, and I overheard Syrus mutter to himself and Hassleberry that these devices seem wrong. I also heard Chazz say "You know what's really wrong? You in that blue coat, but these will change that by weeding out the weak." I couldn't help thinking " _Oh like you have any room to talk?_ " I honestly was worried about this whole mess, but I stayed quiet for now. I decided to go for a friendly match, besides this would be a good time to keep my promise to Alexis. She wanted to see what my scouts could do but also because of the mess from last year we never got a chance to bond over dueling.

As such I decided I would duel her first and so here we go, we both have 4000 life points to start. "Ok Crystal, I'll start. I summon my Cyber Tutu (1000 ATK/800 DEF), in attack mode. Then I'll place these face down. You're up." I studied my hand, not bad. I had two monsters, a trap, and two spells. "Ok, I'll start with this field spell: A Place Called Home." The real life forest scenery changed to a holographic scene of a beautiful beach scene, the ocean at sunset, and various colorful plants. "With this in play, all my monsters can attack like normal, but if you have a monster in their way and my monsters can defeat them? They get a chance to attack you directly and you can't use traps or spells to stop them. The only downside is I have to pay 50 life points per monster on my field to use this effect. Speaking of which, I'll summon Sailor Mini Moon in attack mode (400 ATK/500 DEF) now by discarding a spell or trap from my hand, her special ability activates. I can summon a close friend, Sailor Pluto (1300 ATK/1600 DEF) and she's got a special ability too: all outer scouts are safe, and she can't be destroyed by any monster with 1000 attack points or more. Now I'll give up 100 points to activate my field spell's effect. Sailor Pluto? Go for it!" she charges in and that ballerina does her final performance, then she's allowed to attack again. "I'll set this down for now and leave it at that." I could see Alexis was smiling because of some reason but I couldn't tell what. "Not bad, but this duel is just getting started. So I'll summon my Etoile Cyber (1200 ATK/1600 DEF) in attack mode. Sure, Sailor Pluto is safe from her but not Mini Moon. Etoile Cyber, take out Mini Moon." I smiled and used a classic: "Sorry but I activate a trap: Negate Attack! Now you're Etoile Cyber has to back off and you can't attack anymore this turn." She looked kind of miffed but ends her turn there. It was my turn and I used my entire hand last turn, so I can draw a new one. I got two spells, a monster, and two traps. "Alright, I'll toss my Place Called Home so I can play this field spell: Elysion, the Crystal Kingdom. Now I don't have to give up any points. Instead, all damage on my score is cut in half, and I play the continuous spell card Sailor Tag Team. Now if I have two or more Scouts on my field? Once per turn, one of my scouts can go for your life points regardless of if you have any monsters or not. Even if you do? The other scouts deal with your monsters all in the same turn, and you can't use traps to stop them. I'll summon this face down in defense mode. To end my turn? I play this face down."

I recounted what I have in my face downs " _Simple yet selfless – this trap sends all damage to me, then attacked monster can attack an opponent directly before going to defense. My "Lean on a Friend" trap – this works by giving 125 life points, they go to any low-level monster so they can attack my opponent, in return, my score goes up by 200. As for my mystery monster? Magician of Faith, if she's flipped face up, I get one spell card back from my graveyard_ ". I could tell Alexis was studying her tactics and weighing her options, then finally "I play polymerization to fuse my Etoile Cyber and the Blade Skater to create, Cyber Blader (2100 ATK/800 DEF). Now attack Sailor Mini Moon." I could hear Mini Moon scream a bit, "I don't think so, go Simple Yet Selfless! Now I take that damage but its cut in half thanks to my field spell. Now the attacked monster can attack you directly before going to defense. So Mini Moon? Show her what you're made of." With that, Mini Moon leaps high into the air, flips, and lands a power kick on Alexis's shoulder, she then goes back to defense mode. "Not too shabby, you really know what you're doing Crystal. I'll just place this face down for now." With that it was my turn, I got another good card. "I'll play, the spell card, Defusion to split your Cyber Blader back to how she was. Now Pluto? Be a friend and send Etoile Cyber to the grave!" Her smile told me she had something ready. "Go Angel's Blessing. Thanks to this trap, if my score is less than 1600 points? I get 1550 life points, and your attack set off Doble Passe. Now you're monster attacks me. That's not all, you lose points equal to Etoile Cyber, and she can attack you. That's only half your problem because Etoile Cyber gains 500 attack points when she attacks. So I guess your kingdom saved you because it cuts all that in half, but you do still take damage." Now Alexis's total score was 1250 and I have 400. Well, I'm not surprised that hurt like hell but I got back up. "Not bad Alexis, not bad at all. I can see why Jaden likes you so much. But this duel is done, go Sailor Pluto! End this with your planet attack, Deathly Scream." With that Alexis's points were 0, but she smiled at me. She was happy we dueled but for some reason, I suddenly felt dizzy and she passed out. I guess someone heard the commotion because I soon heard two familiar voices calling us. After that, just like they say in movies and TV, everything went black.

I guess I was out for a while because when I woke up, I was laying on a bed in the nurse's office. Jaden and Jesse looked pretty worried but Alexis had already recovered and she sat beside Jaden at my bedside. "Hm? What happened? And why do guys looked so worried?" they basically explained that after Alexis and I dueled we ended up passing out. She recovered a few minutes after they took her here. "But you were out for about an hour or so. You really scared us there." I couldn't believe that I heard this from Jesse. I guess Jaden was still trying to process those events and how both girls he cared about ended up in that scenario. "Well, thanks for the concern… all of you." I smiled softly and just put my hand on Jaden's, gently rubbed my thumb over the top of his hand to let him know I'm ok. His gentle squeeze told me he was glad we were ok now. After checking in with Ms. Fontaine, I was cleared to leave but I wasn't allowed to participate in gym for 5 days and had a note to explain it. I just smiled and thanked her before leaving. I felt better but understood her concerns about my health and those of the other students. I looked at the damned bio-band on my wrist; something told me this was a huge part of why we blacked out. There was no way that this was "just a monitoring device". Sure I had little proof but both Syrus and I were right even if we can't fully explain it in words.

So we just went to have some dinner now and I invited Alexis and Jesse to eat with us. I decided to make ours and figured they were hungry too, so that's 5 less student's for Ms. Dorothy, our current headmistress at Slifer Red, to worry about making a late meal for. "I didn't know you could cook and bake Crystal," Jaden asked in slight surprise. I guess when I found him out in the woods last year, he was so hungry that he forgot I had made a moderately sized meal for him. Either way, I just smiled softly and set to work, I would make a simple but delicious meal. What looks like plain grilled tuna is actually lightly seasoned and grilled to tender but through and through. The fluffy white rice is met with a special seasoning that helps it look different than it typically would in a good way. I had some side soup made to balance the flavors of tuna, rice, and veggies. Earlier that day I had made homemade sweet rolls with fruit flavored fillings or honey filling for a snack or right now. "Wonder what she's making?" I heard Syrus comment, which was met with Alexis saying "I'm not sure, but I bet it'll taste great. I mean they did update the dorm overall and did a better job of the food budget." The last one to say something was actually Jesse and with a slightly embarrassed laugh "Well it defiantly smells good." Once everything was set and cooled to servable, I brought it out and they looked amazed. "Enjoy everyone!" I said with a smile.

The fact they could enjoy a good meal and still carry a good conversation without looking pained said I did a good job. "Where did you learn to cook like this?" I heard Jaden say happily. I giggled before I ate my last bite of fish, Jaden has this habit of talking with his mouth half full. At least he chewed with his mouth closed, so that's a plus, I just said "Well as you know Jaden, I'm into the arts. To me, cooking and baking are different kinds of art. Although you do have to be more careful with what you make because it can go very wrong. For example, cooking is a trial and error art. Whereas baking is more like a science that meets food but once it's cooled and you decide if you want to add icing? That's when it becomes more like an art. So I took lessons on basics, got constructive criticism for the dishes I made, and I learned from my mistakes. Just like with all the other forms of the arts." Everyone looked surprised by my answer which just made me blush and look down at my empty plate a bit uneasy. "Well, that's an interesting way to look at it. Never thought of cooking and baking as a mix of art and science before, but it makes sense." I heard from Syrus, he looked like he was glad to hear about my hobbies and interests. Which opened the door for Jesse to ask "I was kind of wondering what you meant by the "different kinds of arts". I mean I know there are a lot of different kinds, but are you into the performance arts like singing and dancing? Or the expressive arts like painting and drawing?" I smiled shyly and felt my face warm up. I felt a soft blush dust my face because I actually was enjoying this: good friends, good food, and good conversation. If it were one on one, I'd avoid it like nobody's business! "Well, I'm into both expressive and performance arts. The performance arts I like to do singing and instruments but the only kind of dance I can do is interpretive. Whereas expressive? I like to do pictures with regular colored & water colored pencils, chalk & oil pastels, acrylic, regular, oil, or watercolor paintings. The kinds of pictures I make are landscapes, animals, or both." I couldn't help liking how they were smiling and listening to every word and asked questions. Normally everyone else would just act like they cared but really didn't. The conversation went on and we talked about the different reasons we duel and such. Again I said I duel to meet new people, learn about them, to express myself, and sometimes it helps me to deal with a problem that my other methods couldn't help me with too. Jesse looked like he was a little surprised but I guess the others kind of got what I meant, even if they only got maybe a small part of it. It was only recently that I had told Jaden about how I sometimes do friendly duels to help me deal with pent up stress that art and such didn't help with. He was glad to hear I would never take my emotions out on others, but he does wish I would talk to him and our friends more.

The evening ended and we all went to bed for now, but I overheard Jaden and Jesse talking a little. "Is there anything that girl can't do? I mean, she's a little bit of everything rolled into one." I heard Jesse say with a chuckle. Jaden sounded like he was beating around the bush with his response. "She's definitely amazing and she's learned from people around her, that's for sure." His tone sounded a bit sad but proud too. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it has something to do with her past?" I heard Jesse respond with. Damn! That kid has only known me for three days, and already he's putting the pieces together?! "I can't tell you that answer, Jess. That's up to her to say or not say." I couldn't help feeling relieved when Jaden didn't say, but what Jesse said surprised me. "I wouldn't expect you to. I mean the only times when that's even remotely ok to do: is after you help a victim out of harm's way and they're physically unable to say for themselves or the person is suffering greatly but won't let others help them. Outside of that, it's no one's business to know. So even if I am a bit curious, I'll respect her privacy and you're judgment call". His words made me feel shocked but safe… again I had to mentally slap myself " _Crystal, you've only known him for three days! THREE DAYS! That's not enough time to see him as anything but a casual pal! Besides, if he ever finds out about my past? He'll either love then leave me or use that against me! Until I know more, those transparent walls are there to stay!_ " I curled up in bed and ignored Venus as she teasingly sang a stupid ditty from an old movie about a girl who kept an amazing but humble guy away because she was hurt before, no matter how much her heart already loved him.

As the days went on, I had witnessed Jaden's duel with Axel; at first, I thought Axel was heartless because he hogtied Syrus and put him in life threatening danger. The fact he didn't stop Jesse and Hassleberry from trying to save Syrus, then eventually let Syrus go, and started treating Jaden with respect certainly changed my opinions of him a little. He does care but he understands that sometimes you can't save everyone. He'd make the unpopular choice to help others, but he also firmly believes that any task you agree too is to be completed all the way. In this case? He did what he had to and to the full extent that he could, still felt sorry for how far he took it, but he ended it with honor and dignity. Hell when they both collapsed, he even said I should be more worried about Jaden because he was in worse shape. True as that was, I still couldn't just forget him and besides Hassleberry, Jesse, and Syrus were already rushing to Jaden's aid anyway. So while my heart was hurting and my stomach danced with uncertainty; I helped Axel back to his room and made sure that he was ok. Then I went to see how my brother was and helped him out where I could.

I also saw Jim duel with his fossil yet somewhat futuristic dinosaurs, and skeleton-based warriors against Hassleberry solely living dinosaur based deck. I was definitely alarmed by Hassleberry's human mind being reduced to some sort of human infused with dinosaur voracity, impulsiveness, as well as choppy language for an unwanted bonus. Thankfully after the first round, Jim was able to get Hassleberry back to his normal self but continued the duel so he could get to know Hassleberry better. I couldn't help liking how when Jim was knocked to the ground, he was more concerned about if Shirley (the crocodile he brought with him from day one and was with him this whole time) was alright. Her low growl and movement told him she was a little roughed up but fine otherwise. I couldn't help being impressed by how Jim was able to stop his monster by not just saying so but snapping his fingers too. After he explains the effect of his monster, that Hassleberry's monster's attack points would be taken from Hassleberry's score. Resulting in Jim's win, to which he ended with saying something that was funny but also basically meant "That's just how things worked out" and snapped his fingers again before the attack went though. I also found out he had pretty good sense of humor, even when he referred the ground as a "firm mattress" before they both passed out. Syrus basically confirmed that they're mostly ok, just fast asleep. He even said their snoring was like kittens purring, and in my mind? That's better than when someone's snoring sounds like a buzz saw. I was just happy Jim and Hassleberry were able to recover quickly enough. I say this because when he and Hassleberry were in the nurse's office, they both were on separate beds, hooked up to heart monitors and oxygen masks. I couldn't help feeling sorry for Shirley because she stayed under Jim's bed and looked pretty worried. I understood that Jim sees her as a family member and I saw that Shirley felt the same way. When we first met Jim, he told Jaden and I that he sees Shirley as family, not a pet. I could relate to this because I once took care of a stray black kitten (with beautifully mesmerizing green eyes and white front paws) behind my parent's backs. I soon came to adore it as if it was my own adopted child, my fur baby as I called her. Sadly someone shot the poor kitten repeatedly in front of me because they thought it was fun to "destroy the source of evil". So seeing Jim treat a reptile like Shirley the same why as I did with that kitten (that I affectionately called Mittens)? I was happy and found humor in it because most people would be understandably afraid of her. Some might even kill her out of fear or greed (her skin for fashion) but to do any of that, they'd have to go through Jim first. Even when she started feeling a bit irritated, he took his bandana off so he could cover her eyes to help her feel calm. Most animals heavily depend on a few senses more than others, so by reducing the sense of sight, Jim was able to help keep her calm. So seeing her under his bed like that just tore at my heart a bit. She trusts him just like any typical domestic animal learns to trust a human.

A few days later, I saw Adrian and his cloud-based deck face off against Chazz and his mix between machine fusion and ojama deck. I stood with my friends as we watched the duel between Chazz and Adrian. It was taking place over the lake that was a few yards in front of Male Obelisk Blue dorms. They were standing on square platforms for this midair duel that were held up by cables to eventually meet at one point and connect to one of the helicopters. The loser would end up taking a dip because two of the cables would detach from one side of the platform by remote control. I was surprised by how overkill this seemed to be but I couldn't help thinking of something that one of my sailor scouts, Sailor Uranus, mentioned as we watched. Sailor Uranus looks mostly like a guy and even sounded like a guy despite being born a woman. Even so, she's a powerful scout wielding the wind and physical strength as her weapon. In addition, she had a saber that transforms when she intends to fight. When it's not being used for that, it has a steel blade encrusted with four small jewels. Each was a gem the symbolized one of the four outer scouts. A diamond for Saturn, a turquoise for Neptune, a sapphire for herself, and a garnet for Pluto.

Her uniform colors consist of a near-black navy blue for her skirt, glove ends, ankle length heel boots, back-bow, collar, a heart-shaped gem in the center of her chest bow, and her gem on her v-shaped circlet. Now her chest bow is a bright yellow and she has two small hoop earrings. Her hair is a sandy blond and is short like guys and kind of messy from speed related sports, her eyes are a dark teal-ish green. She is often to use the quick and impulsive answer even though she hates killing people off. She tends to see things very black and white but she can pick up on negative feelings in the wind. Hence why she warned me of something she felt in the wind before the duel between Chazz and Adrian started. "Hold on a second Crystal, that last breath of wind carried a nasty cry of suffering in it. I think Viper just turned up the suction rate of the Bio Bands, so be ready to act should it be called for." Her voice was stern and serious as always. Yes, she can be fun and relaxed, but when something is off she immediately switches to battle mode. She seems cold-hearted and even I tend to question her impulsiveness at times, but I know she does it all with good intentions. That only makes it harder to deal with because she encourages looking for true love and a happy ending, but regardless the team just isn't complete without her. Hell, she agreed with me about Zane's change in behavior and even thinks there's hardly anything redeemable left in Zane.

Even so, I can't help thinking she's right about this, the timing of Adrian's party called "Duel for Jewels" seems too perfect. Students are dropping left and right but seem to recover pretty quickly, and only now he hosts this party? Seems a little too convenient to me. As I watched I heard Chazz claim he took down the Shadow Riders and The Society of Light by himself. I honestly couldn't help thinking " _I'm sorry but last time I checked, the defeat of the Shadow Riders was TEAM effort. Yeah, you defeated one who had a team of duel spirits for lackeys, but that's all. Jaden took down Nightshroud, Crowler faced Camula, then Zane faced Camula, Jaden finished her off. Bastion took on Tania, and Jaden faced and defeated her, and Alexis took down Titan. Oh, and you were the first one to be brainwashed by the Society of Light. So yeah, nice try pal but no._ " Even so, I stayed quiet and would give him a "talk to" later but I back off for now. As the duel neared its end I saw a girl fall over and she had a red coat and medium blue hair, I knew that girl: it was Blair! I heard one of the few duel spirits Chazz has bonded with scream, and I saw why: Chazz in the lake meaning he lost. This only got worse because the monster spirit, Ojama Yellow, got Jaden's attention as Chazz began to sink. I knew this was because Chazz was unconscious and couldn't stay afloat on his own, Jesse had noticed and dove in to save Chazz.

Once that was taken care of, I headed inside and was greeted by the damage and horror that met my eyes. All of the students were lying there unconscious and scattered around, most of them were from Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue, but the only Slifer Red there was Blair. I counted roughly 80 students lying there unconscious and I immediately felt sick. I was so disgusted and appalled by what I was seeing, that I feel to my knees feeling like I was going to puke. Now to a normal person this reaction may a bit much, but I couldn't help feeling so disgusted by how many young and innocent lives were put in danger all in one night. I stood back up and called for help on a device that all students got during their first year here, a student notepad. Every student got one and it looks and functions like a smartphone, every half of the year it would get a tune up. So I took mine out, immediately called for help and explained the problem. All we could do now was wait and once I managed to tear my eyes away, I just sat on the low step to the dorm. I stayed where I was and looked at the ground, I couldn't stand the idea of what was going on. I knew this had to stop and I wanted to help my classmates but how? I know we have to take Viper down but we still don't know why he's doing this and where he's hiding this stolen energy. That's when Sailor Pluto appeared beside me. Her uniform colors consist of black for her skirt, sailor collar, glove ends, knee-high low-heeled boots, back-bow, choker, & chest bow. A small round red pendant is hanging under the choker. The gem on her v-shaped circlet and her heart-shaped gem in the center of her chest bow were both a medium red. Not as dark as crimson but not as bright as my jacket, Sailors Mars, Moon's boots, or Mini moon's red chest bow are. She had strangely shaped earrings in that same shade of medium red. Her shin length, dark green hair was tied up in a high bun on the back of her head, but the rest of it flowed freely in the soft whisper of the wind. Her Latino tan skin set off her fiery fuchsia lipstick but most importantly, her dark fuchsia eyes. Those very eyes that are usually so calm and warm or serious and cutting, looked sad yet all-knowing of these events. The normally steady and calm tone of her voice basically sounds like the lower notes of a flute. This time, however, her voice is laced with sadness and sympathy as she says "I was hoping my vision was wrong, but once again it came to be. If you truly wish to know what I saw, then I can show you in private." I knew she was the Scout of Time & Space, as such she knows all the events of the past and future. The only catch is that she's unable to reveal emotionally based parts. She can only reveal the events based on facts and how they affect others. These powers are granted to her by her two powerful tools that work as one: the "Key of Time" staff which literally look like the majority of a key, and the "Time & Space Garnet". The garnet itself is a large orb that is held in place by a heart shaped fastening made of gray metal. The magic that the garnet produces keeps it attached to the top end (the end without the key teeth) of her staff. As such, the garnet allows her to see events in the timeline and share that information with trusted individuals.

She saw me nod, she instructed me to close my eyes and not let my emotions drive the images away. I saw the events in the various shades of red and shadows of black: Viper setting up shop in that animal lab Jaden told me about, to him raising the suction rate little by little over the first few days, to him threatening to rat Adrian out to the press should Adrian be kicked out of a prestigious academy because of him failing to get a high mark. That it would, in turn, reflect poorly on the Gecko family, to Adrian deciding to fight just as dirty by inviting these students, who now lay here, to the party thinking Viper would frantically turn off the bands for risk of being put in jail, to Viper just letting it happen. The visions start to end but Pluto then says "All of this is connected to that creature you and Jaden saw in your nightmares". I saw a vertical eye with dark veins coming out of it and I heard that slow paced but "little girl" like voice. The vision stopped and I had to blink a bit to re-adjust but I still wasn't sure what it all meant. I looked at Pluto and asked her to show me the nightmare Jaden had. She said she would show me when we got back to the dorm. Sure enough about 30 or so minutes later, she repeated the process and I saw what Jaden saw. Our school was in the middle of a desert wasteland. That same creepy voice called out to him "Why won't you play with me?" I saw Jaden walk up to something and he looked as if he was horrified by the sight. He saw what looked like stone figures of Syrus, Alexis, Hassleberry, Crowler, Chazz, and myself. I saw that he looked scared like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. I heard that same creepy voice say "I already played with your friends and sister, but they weren't much fun." I saw Jaden look at these lifeless figures and say with a sense of disbelief "Syrus? Alexis?" but when he noticed the figurine that looked like me, he shakenly reaches out to touch its face "Crysi? Not you too… Come on, say something!" his fingers were about to brush the figure's face but a breath of wind eroded these to nothingness. Which caused him to scream in anguish and slight fear and that's when the vision ended. I had to take a minute to recover my senses because I realized all of this has to do with a duel spirit from the past.

Before bed that night, I prepped my deck and got ready to help confront Viper when, once again, I overheard Jesse and Jaden talking. "Listen, Jay, there's something that I think you should know about. See these past two days, while I was out for my early morning stroll, I saw tire tracks that belong to a motorcycle and my beasts have been a bit unsettled because they could tell there was a duelist nearby that I faced before." As I listened, I overheard how Jesse helped a young kid. It turns out this kid was forced into a duel by a duelist who goes after duel spirits, no matter the monster's level is. This person was known as "Trapper" because of his methods. Jesse was able to help save the kid and his monster with the help of his beasts. Trapper had a motorcycle and the tire tracks Jesse saw in the woods were just like the ones he's seen in the past. So that coupled with how his beasts were acting on edge from the memories? He's sure that Trapper is here for some reason.

I heard my brother's voice now "Makes sense, Trapper's mad that he couldn't get your monsters and that you helped rescue one of his captured creatures. Then you reunited the poor thing with its rightful owner, so now he's out for another shot." Jaden may not be the brightest one in the bunch but he definitely knows when something is wrong. Jesse's voice sounded sweet but worried "Yeah but that's not my main concern. I'm concerned about you and your neo spacians, as well as Crystal and her sailor scouts. You need to understand that this guy cares little for any life: human, animal, or duel spirit." Jesse explained. He even said that he got a scar from getting hit by a whip during that duel. Turns out Trapper does use one and it's easily covered up by a hologram. Even so, he still got hit sharply by Trapper's whip none the less. It left a small scar and was a reminder of how terrible of an excuse for human life this creep really is.

Jesse sounded pained and scared as he said "I just don't want my friend and my cr- I mean his sister to go through the same thing or worse. If that or something worse happened to any of the few friends I have here, I doubt I'd be able to forgive myself." I heard him say this but I couldn't believe it. Maybe I was hearing things at the "friend and his sister" part but when Jaden responded with "Thanks for your concern Jess, but what were you really going to say? About my sister, I mean. I'd rather you be honest about that because I know it concerns her." I stood there listening outside his bedroom near the door, but out of the line of sight. Jesse just responded hesitantly with "Well… I kind of have a crush on Crystal. I don't know what it is about her but I think she's just amazing. Her personality, words, and behaviors may conflict but her morals don't. I can't help feeling like time slows down when I'm around her and that I want to keep her safe from a threat." He stopped for a second, probably to calm down a little, he added "But I understand her family comes first and that she might even not feel the same way about me. I can respect that entirely and I don't want her to go against her heart." Those words shocked me to the core; does he really feel this way about me? I heard Jaden's calm but somewhat stern voice "I can't tell you or her what to do, but that being said: what I can say that if she ends up hurt and you're involved in some way? I want an honest explanation for an answer. I think you're a great guy and all but I have to look out for her first. She's been through enough, ok?" Jesse's understanding agreement told me that he and Jaden have a level of trust that I may never understand.

The next morning, our group set out to confront Viper once and for all. Our group consisted of Alexis, Hassleberry, Jaden, Jesse, Jim, Shirley, Syrus, and Myself; I couldn't help feeling a slight throbbing in my stomach. I knew I was scared but I had a job to do and I wasn't going to let my fears slow me down. The main and upper floors of this lab, that shouldn't even be here to begin with, were clear and abandoned. Jesse called our attention and showed us he found an elevator that leads to the basement. I had a feeling there was a second basement for tech support whereas the one underneath us would be something else. Now Jesse made a good point when stating that we didn't if the elevator was working or not, but when proved that still works and we were riding in it? I did get a tiny giggle when he quietly said "So much for wishful thinking". I couldn't help finding this a bit relieving and funny that I wasn't the only one was kind of scared.

Once we got off at the first basement, what I saw was impressive. I may not approve of cages but I had to admit, I was just as impressed as Jim was about how realistic these surrounds were. It looked like we just entered a jungle or something. Considering how huge this place was, we all decided to split into smaller groups and use our notepads to keep in touch. Sure as hell beats the old "yell at the same time and hope for the best" plan. The only problem was unless you counted Shirley? We had an uneven group, so I went with Jaden, Jesse, and Syrus. The second group consisted of Jim, Shirley, Alexis, and Hassleberry. That being said, I was a little uneasy went the lights suddenly went out: it's the not the darkness or the unknown themselves that worry me, it's what's hiding inside them it that concerns me. I was told by everyone else and by my scouts that I was "brave", "gutsy", or whatever but the truth is I'm always scared. I'm always relying on others but I hardly have anything going for myself: so how can someone like that be considered "brave"? I noticed Jaden look like he was hurt so I stayed back with him and asked: "Hey, is something wrong?" He just blinked a bit and then said he was ok, he just felt a weird twinge but it's gone now. I decided to stick close just to be on the safe side and my self-critic had to but in again " _Safe side, aka I feel safest around him but I run from the idea that one day he won't be here to save me. Who will I have then?_ " My thoughts were interrupted by someone who grabbed my shoulder. I nearly jumped out of my skin, internally anyway, but I saw it was our history teacher: Professor Stein. One thing I can say about him? He's even more boring than the teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Hell, this guy could put the pope and Pharaoh Atem to sleep in the middle of his first sentence, which is sad to say.

I stayed close and watched Jaden duel this teacher. There was a cavern beneath us was dark and seemed to go on forever, there was a bridge that made a path. Jaden stood on one side of the bridge that had the doorway, which leads to Viper, behind him. Stein stood at the other end and would only let us pass if Jaden won. I couldn't help thinking that Viper had raided the staff files, even looked into personal history and backgrounds when looking for recruits. I doubt Stein just told him about his more personal reasons for being a teacher. I felt sorry that he got his dream to be a professional duelist flattened and had decided to be a teacher in the academy for duelists. I know he was upset that he seems to not get much respect from students, but working for a sicko like Viper? Blaming Jaden for a problem that wasn't even his fault? Expecting students to respect him just because he's a teacher? No! Hell no! "Excuse me, Professor? Did you ever think that maybe the problem wasn't your students, but the methods that you use to teach your students? No offense, but most of us feel like we're being forced to stay awake despite how you sounding like you hate the subject you're teaching. But if you try making the lesson fun and active? You'd probably get better results and the students might like you and the subject more. I mean I saw a historical musical that was actually very accurate and I learned a lot from it, without falling asleep. But when you throw the blame at one student for something that's not even their fault or you act like respect is demanded because of authority? You end up alone and bitter because respect is earned regardless of anything you throw in as an obstacle." I could tell both of them were listening well and actually cared. Sadly, Stein looked at Jaden and said "Well ordinarily your sister would be correct but think: You defeated the Sacred Beasts, then the Light of Destruction. No matter what, students will always look at you and say 'Jaden's the best. If he can sleep through class and still succeed then so can I, just look at his sister. She learned so much from him and yet he didn't have to go to class. She's one of our best and brightest both in and out of class, on and off the dueling field.' True, you might be a slightly positive influence but you're mostly a negative one and if left unchecked will bring about the downfall of everyone around you". Stein went on to explain that Alexis was the only one who didn't miss class or fall asleep in class, but soon she followed the crowd.

I couldn't believe this guy, he acts like sleeping in class is worse than the entire world being destroyed or enslaved! Someone needs to even out their priorities, I was about to interject again when Viper had to make his holographic self known. Somehow, he managed to snag Alexis and she's in a pit but that wasn't the worst part. There was water rushing in from above and it would rise in accordance to Stein losing life points. Viper was putting Alexis's life in Jaden's hands: If Stein wins? She's safe. If Jaden wins? She drowns! Either way Jaden would lose energy but this was a cheap (and sadly effective) way to drive out more energy because it's based off strong emotions. At first, I thought Stein would see the error of his ways but all it took to squash that was a cheap excuse for security footage. Apparently, Jasmine and Mindy were offering to invite Alexis to cut history class in favor of shopping for boots and miniskirts, but they thought Alexis wouldn't because she's 'little miss perfect'. The fact that the girl in the clip actually agreed at all and how fuzzy it was told me this was a fake. I looked at Stein in disgust as I said "I can't believe you bought that! The Alexis we know wouldn't cut class over something stupid like shopping. Now if a friend was in life threatening danger? Oh hell yeah because she'd do her best to make up for it afterward." I was so happy when I saw the hologram live recording of Jim and Shirley save Alexis. At the duel's end, the bio bands went off and I saw Professor Stein fall to his death, now he's a part of history as well in his own rights. I was about to say a small verse of some kind but the sight of an alarming amount of spiritual and emotional energy being sucked out of Jaden tore my mind from that for now. I had to hang on to him by placing my hands under his upper arms, so I could drag him over to a safe place to rest because he passed out. Once I took care of that I stood by the cavern side and muttered a verse of hopes for Professor Stein find some peace, even in the smallest of ways.

It seemed like hours but it was really just about 20 minutes or so before Jesse and Syrus found us. I was happy to see them but when Syrus freaked out a bit over Jaden's health, I had to explain what happened. Only then did I notice that Jesse seemed a bit breathless. "You too, huh?" he nodded and said he was lucky he didn't lose too much of his. He smiled tiredly as he continued to say "I noticed that the more we get upset during a duel, the more of our energy gets sucked out of us." I knew that he had to take a breather, so I insisted that he sit down and rest a bit. Once he did, he added, "I know emotions are something we can't completely control or even truly numb, but what we can do is learn to keep a somewhat level head." I was glad he could understand that, there are so many people who say that if we don't kill the emotions in our hearts we end up killed by them. That's not the case; it's actually split into two parts: people who strategically take advantage of any emotion. As well as when we let our emotions, or our drive, or even both, control how we respond to a problem can too go far and cause damaging to devastating consequences. Much like happened here: Jaden was right to be mad about Alexis being put in harm's way no thanks to a coward, but he let his drive to save her go a bit too far. Professor Stein was right to be upset about how his dream was trashed and how his sacrifices were stained. However acting out on selfish and foolish pride? Blaming a student for something that wasn't even their fault? That cost Stein his very life. I had to make sure I told Jaden about this when he was well enough.

I checked my student notepad for the time, I guess it had been a good hour or so from when Jaden passed out. I saw the overall time was already it was 6:45 pm, we had been here the majority of the day. I couldn't believe how much time had gone by but it's understandable. I saw my brother start to stir from his sleep and I smiled softly as he woke up. Jesse had gone off a bit to see if he could get in touch with the others. Jaden asked what happened and I filled him in on what he may have forgotten, and he tried to stand so we could regroup but his harsh groan from pain told me he still was still hurt. I couldn't let him duel like this again, so I just told him to stay put. I hugged him and said "Jaden, listen: I don't want to lose you." I explained what I had figured out in regards to the bio bands and our emotions. I looked at him and felt spark of courage start to burn a bit stronger as I said "You're still hurt and we both know it, so you just try to take it easy for now. If worse comes to worst, I'll face Viper so you and the others won't get hurt. After all, you always kept me safe up until now, so it's my turn to keep you safe from harm." I could tell he was moved but also worried as hell about my offer. I knew by how his eyes looked unsure when he said "I appreciate that Crystal, but I think I'm the one Viper wants. We both know that for some reason, I'm a magnet for evil nutjobs and I doubt Viper will settle for anyone else." Jaden had a point, but I still didn't care who Viper wants or doesn't want. Viper's not hurting anyone else, not while my heart still beats and I still breathe! That's when I remembered what Sailor Pluto had shown me, Viper was just an accomplice. The real source of the problem was a duel spirit that is borderline demonic. So I tried to be calm as I said "Jaden… I have to tell you something. You see, Viper is only one-half of this mess." I explained the rest and at first, he looked at me like I was nuts, but Sailor Pluto appeared and confirmed it by showing him these events. He looked me in the eyes and said "Crystal… promise me you'll be careful should something happen to-". I just immediately shut my eyes while nodding sadly. I could feel my tears try to force their way out but they didn't fall. I know the odds are heavily against us, I know that anyone of us could end up killed, and I know I will have to eventually stand on my own two feet without him nearby. Deep down I knew, understood, and accepted all of this but it's still the last thing I want to think of. So despite me choking on tears, I said: "I promise Jaden, but you have to promise me the same thing." His nod told me everything: he hated the idea too but he knows he won't be here one day. He just wants to make sure that I'm able to take care of myself, even when he isn't there. He knew that I want the same for him like any good sister would.

That being said, Jesse came back and said he was able to get mostly static but Jim managed to say he and his group were ok. Jesse told Jim we were ok too before the static got too bad. He just hopes they understood him before he asked how we were holding up. I said I was fine and Jaden admitted he's still pretty sore but he'll manage. That's when we heard an engine revving and a creepy laugh. "Tapper..." I heard Jesse say in disgust, the look in his eyes said he was ready for a fight, even if his body said otherwise. From our small hiding place, I clearly overheard Trapper. He talking to himself as a means to sort things out in his mind. I could tell he was frustrated and getting impatient based off these next words "Damn, those Sailor Scouts better be here! Otherwise, I'll have to resort to plan b… good ol bait n switch." I couldn't believe this creep! He's just mad that Jesse and his beasts beat him, now he's after my Scouts. I knew why but I wasn't about to let this psycho run free, so I decided to take one for the team. I stepped out and my two of best fighters came out beside me, Sailor Uranus with her saber and Sailor Saturn with her silent glaive. "How about you pick on someone your own size!" Uranus yelled, but a strange kind of glass container shot from the back of Trapper's bike and landed over Saturn! Somehow he was able to capture her spirit and took off inside the smaller building that was connected to the rest of this lab. "SATURN!" I yelled. Uranus reluctantly retreated to her place in my dueling deck. I looked back at them and told them to stay there while I go on ahead. Without waiting for a response, I ran after this creep and saw where he was keeping her.

Trapper had already hung the container high up out of reach for either of us. I just said in level-headed irritation "Let me guess, we duel. I win: Saturn is freed safe and sound." I noticed that Trapper was dressed in what looked like typical camo-green attire and brown shin-high combat boots, at his hip was a whip. He spoke with an irritatingly "stereotypical-old-school-cowboy" accent and style. Trapper just smiled and said "Yes'em but if you get whooped? They're all mine." What choice do I have? They chose me long before I even knew their cards even existed! They always stayed by me and even kept me up to speed. I may not have known it at the time, but the Sailor Scouts in my deck were the very same Sailor Scouts that protected the universe. They were given new life and purpose as duel spirits but needed someone who could work with them effectively but never abuse their powers. They somehow thought I was this special someone, guess we'll find out here and now.

He started with his monster Lure Phantom (0000 ATK/0000 DEF) in defense mode and placed three face downs. I knew something was off, that Phantom looked harmless but behind that creepy cartoon grin and gel-based body with few gears for arm joints? There had to be a special effect. I had to be extremely careful because, without Saturn, I couldn't protect my inner scouts. But maybe I don't need to because I have something else. "I summon Sailor Neptune (1600 ATK/1300 DEF). She's no girly girl either, she can pack a real punch." With that she attacked with speed and strength. "Not so fast lil missy! My lure phantom has a special effect. If I send it back to my hand, she goes back to your field." I saw that thing grab Neptune's ankle and throw her back to me. "I've got you Neptune!" and I would have caught her if he hadn't set off his trap: Bolas Wrap. "Thanks to this trap; she's caught and then brought to me". I could see Neptune struggle against the binds as she screamed "CRYSTAL!" She screamed as she was dragged away. "Why you!" I couldn't think of anything suitable to call him. She looked at me with trusting but sad eyes, hearing him telling her to stop whining because she won't be alone for long. That just pissed me off more but I knew I had to calm down as much as possible but how can I? I guess this is how Jaden must've felt in his duel, except this creep has no excuses.

I just placed two face downs and it was his turn, and he brought that phantom back but said he'd set Neptune free… his spell Dark Auction trades the equal of my life points to her attack points, in exchange for her freedom. So because Neptune has 1600 attack points, that means I have to give up 1600 life points so she can be freed. I agreed to it even though it stings like hell, now she can come back or so I thought. I swear this guy is a pro at yanking on heartstrings, because he activated a second Bolas Wrap. Once again, Neptune is snared and dragged back. Well it's my turn now, I drew Sailor Uranus… her effect might be able to save Neptune but I have no clue what Trapper has hidden and I don't have her equip spell in my hand. So I just have to try something else for now. "Go Sailor Jupiter (1200 ATK/1600 DEF)! Now here's the fun part about her; if Sailors Neptune or Mercury are in play? Then Jupiter gets and extra 400 points for each. So now, she's got 1600 attack points. More than enough to singe your Phantom! Show him why you're the Scout of Thunder and Lightning, with Thunder Clap Crack!" his smirk said he had something waiting. "I may not have a lightning rod, but I do have this: Capture Snare! You probably noticed that it uses your monster as bait and then sends your Jupiter over to my side."

He was enjoying this and I still haven't made a dent. Now it was his turn again, and he sacrificed his Lure Phantom so he could play Infernal Blast Hound, (1000 ATK/500 DEF). I had to admit, this was an interesting dog to see; it had a drooping tail shaped like a croc's, spikes coming out of its spine in a line, cannon barrels coming out of its shoulders, a collar with a piece of chain around its neck, and it breathed fire. I honestly would've called it "Hound of Hell" or "War Hound" but the Blast Hound definitely fits too. He sent that thing right at me, well he's not the only one with a nasty surprise. "Go Negate Attack, now you're monster can't-". I saw my trap get destroyed by one he had played! Trap Jammer: when I played my Negate Attack that set of his and both traps are destroyed! Which means Blast Hound is still allowed to attack me. The thing knocked me on my back and I could feel its heavy paw on my arm. "Just because he knocked you down doesn't mean he's done. His special effect destroys a card in your hand." My Sailor Uranus was sent to the grave. I was lucky it opted for her and not my Magician of Faith, I'd need her soon.

That's when I understood why I was struggling in this duel: I was too worried about using _just_ my scouts to save Saturn, when I should be calling on _all_ my monsters for help. My spellcasters have higher points and they may be taken more seriously than my scouts but they're still just as close to my heart and as powerful. They were the first cards I ever owned and they've helped me out before. Sure it's harder to tap into their true potential but they're definitely well worth it. So I got back up and checked my hand: I have Magician of Faith, Sailor Mini Moon, Sailor Pluto, and Monster Reborn. If I play Monster Reborn, I could get Uranus back but he'd just use a trap to get rid of that and Uranus. If I use Mini Moon in defense, then I can use her effect toss Monster Reborn and summon Pluto. In order for this to work, I have to draw my Second Summon spell. Yes, I have to give up 100 life points to play it but that's going to help when I need Magician of Faith on the field too. So when I start my turn, I closed my eyes and hoped for the best… I got it!

Now to put the plan to action, "I summon Sailor Mini Moon (400ATK/500DEF), in defense mode. Now thanks to her ability, I can toss one spell or trap to summon Sailor Pluto (1300ATK/1600), in Attack mode. But I'm not done, because my spell card Second Summon lets me summon this face down in defense mode, only I have to pay 50 points. But it's well worth it to save my- Huh?" I just noticed Saturn was looking pretty sick. She normally doesn't look healthy despite being perfectly fine, but now she looks like she having trouble breathing. Trapper just smiled and said casually "Oh, I see you noticed the drawbacks of these capsules; they're not just prisons, they're more fun than that. You see by keeping duel spirits away from both their card and unable to retreat to the spirit world, they suffer quite a bit of strain. I can use these to extract their energy and send it to my own monsters. Just watch." He shows another capsule he had, inside it was the spirit of a regular Kuriboh. Poor little thing looked scared to death and exhausted but I saw it fade to golden glitter when he turned on the switch. My voice must've sounded like thunder to Mini Moon when I said "Oh you sick, sadistic, son of a bitch!" I looked at the monster on his field I followed that up with "No offense to you or your family, Blast Hound". I saw Sailor Saturn use a little of her strength for something but I didn't know what. That's when Sailor Earth explained in my thoughts "Saturn is using something that all Sailor Scouts can use: Sailor Mind Meld. She's sending a message to someone, I'm guessing she's calling to someone nearby for help. I just hope they answer in time". I hoped so too but for now I had to focus on saving her and the others.

I really had to play off his greed so he'd mess up for this to work. I decided to get some info out of him "So level with me: you went after Jesse and his beasts so you could trap the Rainbow Dragon but lost. So now what, this supposed to be some consolation prize? Well either way, you're not going to get away with it and my monsters will help make sure of it! Now Pluto, send that Blast Hound on the highway to hell!" I saw her complete her attack before she returned to my side of the field. "Now that's taken care off, I'll call it a turn for now." I kept telling Saturn to hang on as long as possible through my thoughts and her nod reassured me.

Trapper's laugh sent a stab of dread in me, his blast hound had a second effect: if it's destroyed, then Trapper can summon another one. He just laughed at how hard I fight but he thinks it's a waste time. "How would you know?! They've done more for me than you could ever understand!" I snapped at him. His silence allowed me to finish my thought, "Sure I might sound nuts to some but to people like Jesse and Jaden? They can understand and relate, unlike you! You abuse this gift for your own selfish gain and I'm here to see that it stops." It was my turn again and I saw Mini Moon nod to me, she knew my field was getting full. If I wanted to summon a new monster, she'd volunteer to give up her place. "If it saves Saturn and the rest of us then I'm ok with it, Sailor Scout's honor." Her thoughts told me. "I sacrifice my Mini Moon to summon my Dark Magician Girl. Now send that stray back where he belongs" this was starting to go well. His Blast Hound couldn't come back, so he summoned something called Scavenger Hound. Like the name says, it drags a monster from my grave to his field, but they won't be there for long. He plays the spell Bait and Switch, now his hound leaves a mark on of my captured monsters. Then it forces one of my free monsters to fight a captured one. Pluto is forced to fight a newly revived but snagged Mini Moon. The attack points of the monster who loses comes out of my score! Pluto easily wins and 400 more of my points are gone. He made one mistake though, he sent his hound to attack my facedown monster. I smiled when the attack works, "Thanks, the monster you destroyed was Magician of Faith. Now I get a spell card back from my grave. The spell I'm taking back is Monster Reborn and I'll use it to bring out, Sailor Uranus. Thanks to your traps, she's allowed to bypass your monsters and cut you down to size once per turn." She does but he has one more dirty trick for me. "You're forgetting one thing: without you, they're helpless! Now you seem fond of Jesse and his beasts… So I'll give you the same treatment I gave them: Substitute Pain! For every monster I snagged, you lose 400 points!" he takes out his whip and a hologram makes it look less threatening. The strikes that hit me were real ones but they took 1200 of my life points too: for Jupiter, Mini Moon, and Neptune. I was so glad that the card I placed a few turns ago was still on the field. "You dope, you set off my trap: Divine Intervention. If I'm hit with a 1000 or more points worth of damage, I get 1500 points back & the difference is handled accordingly." Now my score is 1500 but I still felt the sting of pain and shame from those hits. I saw Jaden show up but Trapper noticed too. He said if Jaden tries to stop this duel, then Saturn gets it. Jaden just looked at Trapper with a glare and responded with "I know, because Saturn was the one who told me. I'm here to support a friend." I had no idea what to do: I tried fighting with my scouts, which failed. I tried my spellcasters, which helped very little, so now what? I heard Sailor Cosmos's voice in my mind "You have what you need in your hand but you need the spell 'Celestial Unity' to call on me. Even if Saturn isn't in play, her spirit can still allow you to summon me. Put you faith in us, your spellcasters, and most of all yourself. The rest will happen as it should"

I looked at Jaden and his nod reassured me: if they all thought I could and that I was good enough then maybe I am after all. So I closed my eyes and drew my card, when I opened my eyes? There it was! "Ok Trapper, time to show you why you failed before and now! By ripping the beast away from Jesse you only strengthened the bond between them. You couldn't trap a sweetheart like Ruby, let alone a divine creature like the Rainbow Dragon. That monster would've squashed you like the roach that you are! No offense to Ruby or Rainbow Dragon of course, and no offence to roaches either. By doing the same to me and my monsters? You gave me the key to saving them!" he looked at me like he couldn't believe it and was pissed off. "And how's that?!" I smiled and showed him "I play Celestial Unity! Now all my scouts can combine their strength to bring out the first ever Sailor Scout in all her glory." I saw Saturn start to glow and all the scouts said as one "We were born of the same universe, we are different yet the same. We are one, we are unity! The guardians and their homes are one! SAILOR COSMOS!" Sailor Cosmos appeared in a soft pillar of moonlight and in a voice that was calm yet commanding "If there's a problem here? Bring it up with me, _but leave my family out of it_!" with her strength combined with Dark Magician Girl, we ended this! Trapper had somehow vanished… and something tells me the duel spirits he trapped had something to do with it. Saturn's prison shattered but I saw Jesse catch her. I remembered something the scouts told me the day the three of us hung out. "You see if you or one of us are in danger and someone you truly trust is nearby? We can temporally grant them the ability to see, hear, and even feel us like you can. It depends on the person, their connection to you, and if they can already do one or two of the three." I guess they saw that, despite my personal feelings, I still trust Jesse like I would my brother… I saw that he had caught her and then gently set Saturn down so she can take a breather. My bio-band suddenly went off, I felt its impact as I fell… I faintly heard Jaden and Jesse calling my name. I knew Jaden was only a few feet away but it felt like worlds away when he tried to help me now. I saw a familiar figure stand in front of me and I guess she tried to take the blunt but how? I don't know and soon I was out.

What I saw next was thanks to Sailor Cosmos. She showed me what happened while I was out, because I know I wasn't awake and my soul wasn't ripped from my body. I saw Jaden catch my unconscious body, he just gently set me down on the grown with my face up and put two fingers to my neck. I guess my pulse was faint to the touch because he looked as white as the sheets in the infirmary. He put the back of his hand near my nose and mouth; his sigh said he was relieved to know I was breathing, but his eyes still looked scared as hell. He took his jacket off for now, roll-folded it up before putting it under my head for now. Jesse looked just as worried as he knelt beside Jaden; he did the same with his jacket but he used his as a kind of mini blanket for now. He quietly and gently placed a hand on Jaden's shoulder to be supportive. I guess after a few minutes, Jesse finally decided to say something "Hey Jaden?" My brother just responded with a questioning "Yeah?" I could tell that Cosmos wanted me to see this for a reason.

Jesse seemed unsure of his next words "Now, if you think I'm out of line to ask this, then by all mean let me know" Jaden simply responded with a simple "Go ahead". This teal-haired kid seemed pretty unsure but just asked as nicely and straightforward as he could "Well mind explaining why you're so protective of her? I mean, I know she's your sister and you're close but...?" Jaden just smiled and kinda laughed a little. "Sorry for laughing; it's just no one ever said anything, so I didn't even notice I was acting like that around her. I tend to want to protect anyone important to me when they're hurt or something. I guess the best way to answer is when we were kids she never really told me what was going on at her house. I only found that out late last year but either way, whenever I needed to talk to someone? She was there just as much as my monsters, the only difference is she could give hugs and such. She was always very quiet but friendly, she'd stand up for others but didn't really ask for much in return, so I kind of looked out for her because I could tell she was hiding something." I never knew he felt that way before his family took me in. I saw Jesse's face hold a sad yet understanding expression to it as he says "You just didn't ask because you didn't want to upset her, right?" Jaden's quiet nod said that was true, and I was surprised by this. He always knew but he said nothing to try and put my mind at ease, I guess we really are a lot alike: if it seems like something small we leave it be, but if it starts to damage our overall health, or behaviors or something? We try to reach each other no matter how the thick the barriers. My wanting to keep this from him and pretend I'm ok had put up some kind of transparent wall between us. He somehow was able to reach me, but I get the feeling that soon I'll have to do the same for him.

Jesse's next words shocked me "I understand that feeling. I could tell Crystal would hide things so she wouldn't burden anyone. I noticed that ever since these survival duels started, but she also seems to be more skittish when I'm around for some reason." Jaden smiles as looks at me, he had noticed a stray piece of my hair was in my face. He just gently moved it aside and said "I think that, despite herself, she might have a crush on you. She's just scared to admit it because of how she's been hurt by people who you're supposed to be able to trust. I can't speak for her, but I have noticed it." This vision was coming to an end because my eyelids felt lighter. "Are you three ok?" were the first words out of my mouth, I couldn't help worrying about them more than myself. I saw Jesse's face hold a soft and grateful smile, Saturn stood beside them looking happy to see I was ok. She said she was fine thanks to my spellcasters, the scouts, myself, Jaden, and Jesse. Jaden looked like he was about to cry but he just hugged me. "Don't ever scare me like that again! I thought you were dead for a second there." I was surprised yet moved by this. He just held me close and I just hugged him back a little, his arms felt comforting even when he backed off.

Now we had to go take down Viper; I tried to stand but they both knew I couldn't walk yet let alone run, so Jesse offered to help. I knew they were right and I was in no position to argue. Everyone else caught up with us and so after taking their jackets back and putting them on, Jaden helped me onto Jesse's back; I know I'm a healthy weight for a girl my age and as active as I am but I still feel like a heavy burden. I'm just glad I wasn't slowing him down, he was able to keep up with the others even while carrying me. Then again, with what we're dealing with? I guess the idea of innocent lives, not just one, being at risk was more enough to give him the strength he needs keep up and help someone at the same time. That was definitely proven true when something set off a series of closing doors. We had to get past those to get to Viper but they close by slamming shut from above us. I felt like we were in some twisted version an Indiana Jones movie. It was just Jesse, Jaden, and me either; I had almost forgotten that Jim, Shirley, Syrus, Alexis, and Hassleberry were all here too. The last two doors were just ahead but one was already halfway closed.

A sudden crash from a skylight alarmed me, but I was both surprised and grateful Axel had shown up. He used two of the same kind of wire cables that had two spikes at the ends of the cables to keep the door open enough to duck under the door. So two cables and both had two spikes at either end, which mean one for both sides of the door's outline. They propped the door from underneath at a downward angle, the top of half of this angle on the side facing us, the bottom was on the opposite side of the door. He used his shoulder to help force it open and each of us made it, well except… I heard Jaden say this "Jesse, take Crystal and go ahead of me. I'm going to make sure the door doesn't shut on Axel." I knew Jaden was strong enough to do this but I was still scared. Even so, I guess Jesse understood something that I didn't at the time: Jaden trusts him enough to take care of me in his place, just like how I trust Alexis to take care of Jaden in my place. We both know we can take care of ourselves but no one can fight on their own forever.

Jesse did what he was asked and I saw that Jaden made it through the second door but Axel didn't. All I could do was hope he at least got away with his arm and leg intact, while we kept moving. We finally found Viper in the room for transporting animals in by helicopter, he stood at the far end of the helipad. I saw he had a duel armor on and the disk itself was built right in to act as a kind of tray system. The name "viper" suits him: he hides his true ways behind the look of a soldier and a teacher, like how a snake hides in the habitat it's native to. His ability to get things done and produce results that people want (rather than what they need!) is seen as "gift" but I know better; his methods are toxic and his '"strict ways" can come off showing he cares. They always say that "The most beautiful of snakes are often the most deadly", which is true for some of the most harmless looking of nature's creations: plants, animals, and humans too. This pathetic excuse for a human life is the embodiment of the word "poisonous". He forced Jaden into a duel, by activating the helipad's rise function so we wouldn't be able to get away. Jaden only agreed so we could stop Viper; he knew he might end up killed from the loss of energy that would be sucked out of him win or lose, but he didn't care. He's doing this to help save the other students, even if it means his life is cut short in the process of stopping Viper.

I finally felt better and just whispered to Jesse "Thanks for your help, but you can put me down now" he in response gently crouched down so he could let me down, he said he's happy to help a friend in need. As I watched the duel, I couldn't help but think about how Pluto was right; there's no way Viper could gain anything from just draining copious amounts of students' energy, even the sick enjoyment of seeing people in pain was a good enough reason. I thought about it and about what Pluto had told me in those visions. "Viper! I don't buy this, you're not working alone and you're not doing this for sadistic pleasure, it's just a sick side benefit! Now let's talk motive." He tried acting like he didn't know but I didn't buy that either. He smirked and asked me why I thought that. "Simple: you would've been caught sooner if you were doing this for just enjoyment. Yet you were able to make it obvious and elusive that you were involved, the only problem is you're storing that energy for something. You couldn't risk a screw-up or whatever, that's why you made the bio bands seem harmless. Raising the suction little by little, but you saw progress was going too slow so you maxed it out. You were careful about your plan, but that's what makes the idea of doing so because of enjoyment first a bust." His cruel smile just sent chills down my spine "You got everything correct, but to clear up the motive how about a little "show and tell"?" he revealed his right arm had some kind of crimson red covering to it.

I was just as alarmed as the others but Hassleberry's question of it being poison oak or something comes off as a serious question and a joke, I just thought to myself " _Uh Hassleberry, poison oak doesn't cause something like that_." Viper explained he was doing this for his son who was gravely ill. While he was on a special order from his commanding officer to pick up an unknown object that crash-landed on earth, he got word that he had limited time before his son passes away. Oddly enough the thing that crashed landed was a still-living severed arm. Somehow it could communicate through thoughts and it promised to help him get his son back in exchange for him helping it. Now it all made sense: this thing require large amounts of energy to revive itself and that's where the student's come in. He was using hundreds of innocent students as sacrificial lambs to save his only kid. As the duel started to come to an end, Viper went too far in my eyes: he accused my brother of being selfish and I wasn't going to let him get away with that! "OH HELL NO!" I could feel them staring at me but my eyes were fixed on Viper "You have no room to call my brother selfish! He's not the one sucking the very life out of innocent people, now is he?! You're the one using students, who have their own families back home, as sacrificial lambs! Jaden is the exact opposite of selfish: he's putting his own life in harm's way for the safety of others. I know because he's done this numerous times, even when we were kids. He'd always have my back just like he always has that of all our friends. So if you want selfish, I can direct you to the nearest mirror!" I smiled to Jaden before ending my little speech with "We'll always have your back because we know you'd do the same for us. Now teach this creep a lesson that's long overdue." I was glad when Jaden won but what happened next was something I wish was just a bad dream.


	8. Chapter 8

When the duel ended, the helipad we were standing on was engulfed in a powerful pillar of bright white light. I felt someone hold me close in a protective embrace and I just shut my eyes. When I opened them I saw that we were somewhere that was definitely different. I saw that there were three suns in the sky and our school seemed to have been literally ripped out of it original place and brought to wherever we are now. I honestly don't remember much of what happened here and what I do remember isn't pleasant at all. I was just glad my friends and brother were safe but I was more worried about getting back home. The environment we were in wasn't safe at all and a wasteland of a desert.

Apparently, we were in an alternate dimension where duel spirits could come to life and the rules of spells and traps could work but everything else I don't know, and to be honest? I didn't want to know. I do know the whole monster part because a creature called Harpies Lady tried grabbing me. She's a monster that resembles a woman but has wings like a bird jutting out of her arms, claws for hands, and talons for feet. Her talons literally dug into my skin and she wasn't going to let go so easily. I tried summoning one of my own monsters but she kept moving too quickly so I wouldn't be able to. I heard a whinny-like voice and saw not just Sapphire Pegasus but my own alicorn friend, Helios. He's really a human-like duel spirit who can become an alicorn. His card had fallen from my hand but Jesse was able to use him along with his Sapphire Pegasus! Speaking of which, Sapphire Pegasus managed to get Harpies Lady to drop me but Helios caught me on his back. The impact hurt my stomach a bit but it's still better than dead. Harpies Lady looked like she wasn't keen on a fight anymore so she left. Helios lowered me to the ground, I couldn't believe how this happened but I saw how my arm was bleeding. I had a pouch I always keep on my person that held clean scraps of fabric in it like fashion scarfs or something. I was able to take one of the scarves out but I started to feel dizzy "Here, let me help you" I saw Jesse run up to me and helped tie the scarf around the wound for now. Hassleberry and Syrus were helping Jaden stand and walk because the duel he just finished. Jim was helping someone else walk. This someone was Axel, I was so glad he was alive and more or less ok. Alexis seemed ok too but just worried is all, she suggested we head inside for now and hope for the best.

We headed to the infirmary and got all three of us taken care of, I was surprised Bastion was here too! Ms. Fontaine explained that he got here due to a freak accident in his mentor's lab. So we decided to gather all the students in the gym to make sure we were all here and accounted for. Only about a hundred or so of the total students were brought with us when the academy was brought here. I felt so sorry for them because they're scared, and while most hide it under anger and such, I knew they didn't mean most of the things they said. It's just the fear and panic of the unknown talking, I knew from experience. So after figuring out the rough amount of food and water, we had only a week to figure out how to get out of here… I didn't like those odds but I knew I've been through worse. So I decided to put my own skills to use, hopefully, that'll help even in the smallest of ways. We had a few scares but when I thought things were starting to work out, Jaden and the others had to head out and find something that Bastion claimed he saw, a submarine. That's when I remembered, back home our school was on an island and we've had people show up in submarines as well as ships, yates, seaplanes, and helicopters. So maybe one was recently abandoned and somehow ended up here. He was sure it had some things onboard we could use for now. So that's where they were headed, I volunteered to stay behind and help keep the students safe.

Though while my brother and his team were gone, is when I saw some of the other students behave weirder than normal… they were possessed or something but the numbers were growing fast. I was able to avoid ending up that way but I was only one of a small few, I saw Chazz and Syrus among them. I knew that wasn't really Syrus acting like a heartless zombie and I also knew that because of this I can't risk going out there to knock some sense into him. I hated this, if I can't even keep my own friends safe, then what good am I? I just helped gather the students and staff who weren't possessed in the gym. I was so happy to hear Jaden's voice on my notepad. Hassleberry and I went out and helped get them back to the gym and clued them in. I could tell this was taking its toll on him; so no matter how scared I felt, I had to show him he doesn't need to protect me as much.

Eventually, we got to the evening meal, I saw a kid who was still pretty sick and didn't want to bother anyone sitting by herself. She reminded me a lot of what Jaden was like when we were kids when he sat by himself and looked pretty sad. So I walked over and sat down with her, "Hey, you're Kimmy right? a second year in Ra yellow?" her meek and shy nod was my answer. I told her if it made feel any better I was pretty scared too. She looked at me like I just spoke in Latin or something but she said that made her feel a little better. I looked at my share of food, a small piece of the jello-like mix. It may look a little strange but it still smelled pretty good and it did kind of taste like stiff fudge. It was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand so I gave her half of my share. "But you-". I smiled and shushed her "I've gone for weeks one smaller because I lived on the streets for a while. So I know how to get by, but you're still sick. So go ahead, you need the extra more than I do." she looked at me like she was going to cry and thanked me. I told her that I knew we'd find a way home. She asked if I saw a young man named Marcel and I told her I haven't. That's the third time I heard about this kid… who was he? She explained she has a crush on him and now she's scared he might be either possessed or even dead. I looked at her and saw that possibility was very true but then I remembered "Well he might just be back home too. I mean yes, it is possible he's here and all but he could also be at home too." Her eyes looked a little hopeful. I don't know for sure if this Marcel is here or not but I tried to help regardless. Some kid in blue saw Kimmy had the extra and he demanded it "Hey, I gave her half of my share. So step off ok?" I tried to be nice and truth be told I could've done worse but I knew that would only make it worse.

I was glad that we had a second to rest a bit and I looked out at the night sky. I recognized the footsteps approaching me from behind, "Hey Jesse…". I turned at looked at him, to which he responded with "Hey, Crystal." He said with a soft smile. The halls were blocked off mostly but I managed to find a space to be by myself for a bit. He was a really nice guy and I honestly couldn't help feeling terrible for how I acted around him. How can I possibly hope to get over my ex-boyfriend if I shut my heart out from people who actually have proven to care about me? "Crystal… I have something I'd like to tell you. Just hear me out first ok? Please?" I just smiled and nodded. "Listen, you see there's this girl I have a crush on, but I know she's been through a lot. Even so, she's still such a sweet and kind girl, she's independent, she's a protector and a healer." I could tell he was talking about someone he's nuts over but I'm not sure if it's me someone else. "Well, she's a lucky person to have you think so highly of her," I said as steady as I could, he took me by the hand to a small side pass to the restrooms near the gym really quick. "I'd like you to help me tell her my feelings. I just need you to stand next to me ok?" I nodded. Why did my heart feel like it was crumbling? He asked me to close my eyes while he "brought her over to us". "Ok, when you open your eyes, she'll be right here in front of you." I couldn't help thinking he sounded kind of giddy, I should be happy he gets to tell this girl his feelings because he may not get the chance after this, so why do I feel like I want to cry? I opened my eyes and saw I was looking at my own reflection. "A mirror?" I said a bit confused. Then he stood next to me saying "The girl I have a crush on is you, Crystal. I just didn't know how else to tell you. I know you've had a rough life but I still think you're amazing. If we make it back home, would you mind trying to go out with me?" I saw his eyes looking kind of sad and worried while his cheeks and nose had a blush dusting across them, his smile was shy but hopeful. I said I'd think it over but we should get back to the gym. I was glad he understood but deep down I felt something I had almost forgotten how to feel.

Once we got back safely, I saw Mars talk to Jaden and Jesse for a bit… on the other side of the 50 ft. wide gym. I decided to go see how things are going so far. I was about to head over, but Sailor Moon said that it was best I stay at a distance. Sailor Cosmos said she'd only showed me what they events they were talking about. I couldn't believe it; Mars was telling them about my ex?! Before I could go over there Sailor Moon stopped me again, "Mars only wants to help you. She knows why you won't say what you're hiding because and she's worried. She's just telling them what caused this, so what happens next is up to you two." I knew she meant me and Jesse but I still wish Mars would've asked me first. Though to be honest I would've said "no" and she probably knows that. I could hear her through Cosmos Celestial Quartz. It works like Pluto's garnet but it allows Cosmos to see events of past and near future based on both facts and emotions, whereas Pluto's Garnet can only display events based on facts.

Mars looks pretty sad and concerned as she says "Listen, Crystal's only had one boyfriend before. He was very controlling and viciously jealous. In public, he was subtle with how controlling and jealous he was. He eventually found out she was planning to try out for this school, so he tried to make her feel like she couldn't come up with any strategies on her own. He struck her in the face because she was about to leave his apartment, but he blocked the door. She told him he needed to move. He said to her that she's not going anywhere." I could tell Mars wasn't enjoying this and she felt like she was reliving it herself. I had won my scouts a few days before this incident and they all saw that. I saw Jaden and Jesse look like they were shocked and disgusted by that. "She said to him in disbelief 'you hit me' and he just looked at her and said 'well yeah' like that's what you're supposed to do when someone you're dating does something you don't like. She got scared and screamed at him 'I'm leaving, get out of my way'. He was startled and she ran for it. We told her to call 911 then explain the problem as she was running back to the shelter. She's never really been the same since… She's not afraid of love and she knows it exists because she's felt it before".

I saw Jesse's face look like he was heartbroken over this. "She's just afraid of being hurt by someone she lets into her heart all over again." He said this like he understood but it drove a knife in him. Jaden just said "I hope her heart can start to heal… She deserves better than that creep." I saw Mars look like she had an idea but was hesitant to share it "I think what she needs, well as far as romance goes, is someone who knows how to be stubborn for the right reasons at appropriate times. She's used to having to stand up for others and herself but she's afraid to let people in. She's scared that if she falls or breaks, no one will be there to help her stand back up or piece her back together. She's so used to doing all of that on her own that she's forgotten it's ok to ask for help when you need it." I saw them think back to when I tried to stand and when I tried to make a makeshift tourniquet. They finished talking and I saw them walk over. I knew I was in for it now but they decided to wait till morning to talk it over.

The next morning, I waited till everyone else was busy with getting ready for morning meal so I could talk to them about last night. Once that was done, I didn't get the lecture I was expecting but I did get a pretty hurt look from both of them. I guess Jaden and Jesse thought I would be able to trust them even after all of this. I couldn't help feeling like I've done all I can and I'm at my breaking point. I was glad the others were still distracted for now so no one else would see this; I ended up crying and hugging them both as if my quiet sobs were just letting out all the pain I held inside. I could feel them hold me, I couldn't tell who was stroking my hair, but I still felt the soothing warmth from it nonetheless. I half expected Axel or someone to come over and say something like "Crying won't solve anything, so stop the tears and chin up. We're all scared but meltdowns won't help". If they saw or overheard, they just let it be.

I finally pulled myself back together as they gave me something to think about. "Listen, you don't need to shoulder this alone anymore." I heard Jaden say this to me. Which was followed up by Jesse's input "We'll always have your back because you've always had ours, just like your brother. You've suffered a lot on your own for others, but you don't need to anymore." They were right, I knew that but they seem to have done more for me and the other's than I did. "Crystal… you're one of the strongest and bravest people I know. You had every reason to end up cold and bitter but you didn't. You volunteer to protect others even if you don't know what you're facing. I mean look around you, you helped to keep these students safe and taken care of. Even though it hurts seeing a few of our friends ended up like the way they are now, you still avoid hurting them more than you have too. That's a gift and a rare one, especially with how much you went through. So don't worry, even if it seems like you're no help, you actually are helping. So how about letting us help you, ok?" I heard my brother say. I just smiled and felt better, like a heavy backpack I carried all this time finally felted lighter. I understood now what kept us together even when we're separated: the fact that we support each other and help each other, even when we can only be there in spirit. Which would be put to the test soon, because that malicious duel spirit finally had it with our little group support.

Before we went out to face that thing, Axel took me aside for a bit and talked to me about something I never thought we could agree on. "Listen, I know I come off as someone who could care less about feelings but that's not true. I mean yeah, I see myself as a soldier so I have to be smart, strong, and tough; but in the end, I'm still human. It's like my dad told me when I first started my training, "A soldier who does what he has too and does so with honor shouldn't be ashamed to cry. Even the strongest of warriors have moments where they have to shed a few tears because it means they haven't forgotten that they're human". He also had days where he needed to cry a bit and I still think he's a strong man. So I've learned that it's ok to cry in situations where things become too much and you just need a second to let your tears out, or you've seen something that reminds you of a traumatizing event you went through and you have a brief flashback where you end up crying loudly? That's fine because it's understandable. But getting hysterical to the point where you can't seem to stop is when you need to calm down and pull yourself together. Tears don't mean you're weak, they mean you have a heart. It's if you can stand back up and face what's causing the tears that can make it a problem or not, ok?" he put his hand on my shoulder and smiled. That's probably the nicest thing he said to me this whole time, so I nodded and we headed out to do what we had too. As if this fight wasn't enough, three students were beyond waiting anymore and they decided to do whatever it took to look out for themselves. Long story short: they ended up a strange mix between human and duel spirits, each one had something that matched their strange personalities. Axel was facing a guy from Ra Yellow who thought he was funny, but his jokes were so bad I felt like I was in physical pain from how lame they were. Jim was facing a guy from Obelisk Blue who was the definition of "anger issues" and proof that kind of thing doesn't go well with irrational behavior. Jesse was facing an Obelisk Blue who said nothing and hardly did anything only to deal some serious damage. I saw that Saturn looked like she was annoyed by Jesse's opponent because she knows how to use the strength of silence for good, unlike this creep.

After the duel was found out to be a diversion, I saw the few students who stayed by us end up turned into possessed zombies out of anger and desperation. I couldn't stand seeing this happen but my thoughts were interrupted by Jaden rushing over. He had slipped off to see what the real reason was for this. He found out that Marcel was possessed by the thing causing the zombifying spell. This thing was planning to try and break the seal on the Sacred Beasts. I knew things could only get worse from here. So we had to stop this once and for all, thankfully Bastion had figured out a way to get us home but we needed help from his mentor back home. I don't remember how he was able to get in contact but either way, we got our answer: once the newly made Rainbow Dragon card was here, it has to be used in a duel to open a portal back home. I couldn't help thinking that's why this duel spirit wanted those beasts, it was going to try and stop us from going home. I looked at Jesse who was recovering from that triple one on one duel. He held the crystal beasts and more than likely the dragon would choose him too. That means he'd be the one to help open the gateway home… but that also means he'd end up left behind. I hated this, he didn't do anything to deserve a fate like that. I know it's his choice if he's chosen by the dragon, but still! Why can't I stop my heart from breaking?! I just run off a bit and ignored the voices that called me. I really did start to fall for him earlier on but denied it the whole time. Now I know why: no matter how hard I tried to shut him out, he stayed. And this how I repay his kindness? By leaving him behind and continuing on with my life?! I hit my knees and ended up screaming "IF ANYONE SHOULD BE LEFT BEHIND, IT'S ME!" while sobbing. I looked back and saw I had run about 60 feet away from the school, away from the people I cared about, away from the people who cared about me, away from my brother Jaden, and away from Jesse.

I heard Sailor Moon's voice as I stopped crying, she looked a lot like her mother, Sailor Cosmos. She had golden blonde hair that was done up in two small buns on top her head that trailed in calve-length pigtails. In these buns were silver hair ordainments that had a ruby stone in the silver, one per bun. She had bright blue eyes and was dressed like all the other scouts. She had bright red knee-high low heeled boots, a pleated mini skirt the majority that was closest to her waist was white but the soft yellow blended evenly with light blue at the very end of her skirt. Her back bow was a transparent white and her choker was pale yellow with a dark pink heart on it. Her v-shaped circlet had a pale yellow crescent moon with its point facing upwards. The collar that draped over her shoulders was bright blue, her chest bow was bright red like her boots. In the center was her golden heart-shaped brooch with angel wings, inside this broach was a powerful crystal of magical power. It was white as snow but transparent as glass and it was called the Silver Moon Crystal. Her voice was warm and loving and something like a teen girl becoming more like and adult woman.

She knelt in front of me, looked me in the eyes and said "Crystal, he would want you to keep living and to open up your heart, that way his sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. I know because in all the fights I've ever been in, my fellow scouts were all willing to give up their own lives because they knew I was strong enough to carry on. I kept going, fighting, and living for them because I knew if I gave up? Then, and only then, would they really be gone for good. I believe that's what Jesse would want from you, just like you're willing to give up your safety for others too." I knew she was right and I know she's telling me the truth because of her tears too. "He's willing to give up his life to get you all home but I also know he's doing this because he loves you. Keep his love in your heart so his memory and sacrifice won't be in vain". I knew she was right. I also knew that she was flesh and blood now, so I just hugged her like she was the only thing anchoring me here and sobbed loudly, I let all my pain out and she just stroked my hair like a mother would do for her daughter. I felt the other scouts join the hug and I felt the love from them and from Jesse too. He wasn't here now but I could feel his heartfelt love along with theirs, my spell casters, my friends, and my brother. I was ready to go back and face it: I just hope I could have the chance to tell him my feelings. So I stood up, dried my tears, and ran back as fast as my legs could move.

As I ran back I heard Sailor Earth's warm, gentle, and sturdy voice again, but I couldn't see her anywhere. "Crystal, the reason you can't see me is because only half of my spirit dwells in my card. The rest dwells in you; because when I was tasked with protecting and guiding you. You see… my pure heart and soul were sealed inside you. I act as a shield to your morals and pure thoughts so you can remain as you are while growing and learning. You and I are two separate souls that share your body, but we're not one in the same." I heard her explain, to which I responded: "You can't be serious." I couldn't believe it at first but her next words proved me wrong. "Remember when you dueled Trapper and your energy was about to be drained?" I heard her ask. I thought about that, I saw someone stand in front of me. "I was able to temporarily switch places with you and let the bio-band take my energy instead. If I didn't, you really would've died right then and there. I also helped you save Aster remember?" I thought back and remembered her saying she'd lean me the leg power I needed to save him. "So you really have been keeping me safe all this time. But does that mean I'm like-". She immediately cut me off. "No, you're not like what happened to those three and Marcel. You may have my protection but we are still separate and I won't try to make you do anything against your will. Marcel is being forced to do these things and feels he can't break free no matter how much he wants too. Those three were fused with the monsters that matched them but only made them worse than they really were." I started to see, whatever was causing these events doesn't care who suffers but Sailor Earth does care about me; so she doesn't interfere with my choices and acts as a shield when there is a legitimate threat. Other than that she encourages me to reach out to others and do my best, so I really am different than those kids. I was happy I got there in time to help support them.

I showed up in time to see what was possessing Marcel as it exited his body, a monster who looks like a demon: Yubel. Her sickly-pink skin and large black bat wings were disquieting. She had one amber-orange eye and one dark teal eye, right between them that made up a straight up and down part of her forehead was a third eye. In most cutlers what she has is called "The All Seeing Eye" or "The Eye of Truth" meaning she can probe around inside your mind and heart! Some would say that's a gift but that depends on who you're talking too! Yubel's clothing was bizarre, to put it mildly; one of her legs is completely covered, the other is mostly exposed. Her hair is half silver and half royal blue but it all looked like she was a mad scientist. She also has blue lips and pointed teeth resembling those of vampire. Her whole appearance was of second guessing and her voice was that same creepy little girl speech. I saw that same creepy arm color as what was on Viper but it had claws and such. That's when I put everything together: SHE WAS THE DUEL SPIRIT THAT TORMENTED JADEN AS A CHILD AND WHAT VIPER SAVED THAT DAY!

She looked at me with a smile and said "I see you remember me… I don't know if I should be honored or disappointed. I guess both would be appropriate, honored that you remember me but disappointed in Jaden! For how he threw me away and then he forgot about me." She turned her attention back to Jaden and Jesse, I saw her use the Sacred Beasts like they were her minions. She looked back to me, then Jesse, and then back to Jaden before saying "I see you chose these two over me, and after all I did for you. I was your friend, your protector, your avenger; my loyalty never wavered, but somehow that wasn't good enough! Well if I can't have you, then neither can they!" I couldn't believe this demonic diva, she acts like Jaden is her property like he was an object! I was so far beyond tolerating this that I yelled at her "JADEN DOESN'T _BELONG_ TO ANYONE BUT HIMSELF, AND LEAST OF ALL TO YOU!" she looked at me like I was a dead girl but Jesse wasn't about to let her start "If you think you can just force your way into someone's life, then you've got another thing comin!" she looked at him next with that murderous glare. Then she looks at Jaden liked she's disgusted with him "You're pretty quiet for someone who has such determined friends." He looked at both of us and said nothing, he looked like he couldn't remember what he did to hurt Yubel but he knew she had to be stopped. It finally came to the moment I dreaded: we both were crushed as Jesse said "I can't leave, I have to stay so the attack can keep the portal open. Now, Rainbow Dragon? Take them home!" I could see the pillar of colorful lights separate the school, us, the students and staff from Jesse, his dragon, and Yubel. I saw him smile at me and Jaden as we were sucked up into the portal and brought home. I tried yelling to him but the wind and wall of lights blocked my voice.

I couldn't believe we got home safely but Jaden was feeling just as lousy as me, maybe worse. I felt my heart crumble by this and I tried to keep my promise but how could I? That slimy demon did this to our friend and who knows what she'll do now! I just hope Rainbow Dragon and the Crystal Beasts can keep him safe from her. I saw that Helios appeared to me as a spirit once again… our monsters aren't able to become flesh and blood anymore, which means only a few of us can see them. And even fewer can be touched by them and let themselves be touched by other humans. I just looked down, unable to look at any of my monsters right now. "Aura… I know you're angry and devastated but please understand that they'll keep him safe. I know because I was good friends with them in the past, when the hidden kingdom of Elysion still stood beautifully and as a safe haven." I heard him use my middle name because the last word I wanted to hear was "crystal". I know it's my name and that the connection between it and who we just left behind shouldn't change things. In time I would start responding to my name again, or at least "Crysi". Even so, Helios respected my feelings and explained everything of those times but it only helped me feel a little better. Later that night I wandered around in the woods a bit and I found a clearing, as soon as stepped deeper into the clearing I saw it start to change… an ankle-deep lake appeared and there was a feeling of peace in the air. I felt the warm moonlight fall on me and I felt some very sweet words that hurt like hell because they were lyrics to a song I loved "My colorful moonlight is you…" I sang softly and sadly. I finally headed back and realized that lake was moonlight illusion, but the feelings weren't. I just went back to my dorm and curled up in bed for a little bit and dozed off.

What I saw was a dream message, these are dreams that can start like any other or a nightmare but the overall message is the main focus. I guess this one was to show me both what I wanted to know and what I didn't want to face because what I saw in my dream message was horrible. It must have been the aftermath of the duel between Jaden & Jesse vs Yubel. Jesse just looked at the sky where that powerful portal was opened but now it's closed... He looks exhausted but glad we're safe. He turns his glance to a seething Yubel: she's tired, bitter, and still looking for a fight. "You took away my chance at love and revenge! You'll pay for that!" she starts to swipe at him as he backs off. "You were hurting innocent people just because they got too close to Jaden and yet you act like that's love? You really need to get your head straightened out" he said as she tried to swipe at his neck but the dragon and his beasts protected him.

As such, Yubel just gets angrier and angrier at him, "I'm going to make you suffer too, you and that girl; for how you stole Jaden from me and took my place!" He backs off again but she manages to grab him by his shirt before she does whatever she has planned. I saw his face look understandably scared while he struggled against her grip as he said: "What are you doing?!" Yubel smiled cruelly as she said "I'm going to show you what it feels like to have your very morals ripped out of you! Then you'll go through what I endured when Jaden wronged me, by sealing you somewhere he can't retrieve you from!" she smirked as she sinks her claws deep into his chest. I felt my stomach churn as I heard his screams of pain and agony slice through the air. She takes his soul and seals it in the dragon. I saw his body laying there, lifeless and unmoving but that's not where it ended. She smirked as the dragon writhed in pain and the once pure white, gold and rainbow gemmed creature become a darker form of itself. She laughed tiredly as she said "Now you're in no condition to stop me!" before she takes her 'place' inside Jesse's body so she can control the dragon. I heard her voice overlap his own, I saw his beasts demand that she put Jesse back where he belongs. She just smiled and said "Or what? Will you injure your friend's body? Don't forget your powers and the damage that those powers cause are just as real as his body. So will you risk his health to free him? No? Well then, to make sure we understand each other, let's add this lovely card to the deck." I saw her add something to his deck and I saw his beasts become more vicious as they try to resist whatever she did to Jesse's deck. "Now you'll have no choice but to obey me! I know that Jaden will come after you and your friend. Although, I do hope his pesky little sister will tag along. She was the only friend I wasn't able to hurt but now I can, thanks to your friend's memories." I couldn't believe this… I heard the real Jesse's voice from inside the dragon, he sounded weaker than after the duel. I could see his spirit resting against a blue crystal wall that was in a dark and cold place. I realized he was inside the soul of the dragon. The dragon itself must be feeling scared, lost in the dark, and alone, just like how Jesse in this dark, lonely, and sad place. I could hear him pleading my name "Crystal… Crystal... I'm- I'm so sorry... But please… Don't look for me… It's a trap... I don't want... to hurt you..." he managed to say before he passed out. I saw a purplish black flame shoot up from the base of where he was sitting; as if I was standing across from him and the fire was keeping him separated from "me" while I see what's going on.

I snapped awake after that, panting slightly but I managed to calm down. I noticed a few tears that slipped down my face from when I was seeing that dream message. I cried a little when I realized what the dream meant "God, what is wrong with me?! How could I miss that?! That's what they were all trying to tell me this whole time: Life is about letting people in even when you'd rather keep them away. A balance of holding on and letting go, being close while being apart, whether you're a duelist, a sailor scout, or an ordinary person. I can't believe how stupid I was to not see that one of the most important people who stayed beside me, was right there in front of me the whole time! I didn't let him in and now I might lose him forever." I felt a spark of determination light in my heart as I said "Unlike Yubel... Keeping those I care about at a distance did more harm than good... Now I have to fix this or die trying." I followed after Jaden and our friends when I saw them heading to a golden a shimmer. I knew just as well as they did that the golden glimmer was actually a portal back. I stood next to Jaden and gently took his hand in mine for a moment and looked back for a second; Axel, Alexis, Bastion, Chazz, Hassleberry, Jim, and Syrus were all coming with us. Like it or not, their involved too because we're friends and we're all in this together; after all, if you can't count on a friend to watch your back and help you out when you need it most, then who can you count on? We know and understand that the odds of it being the same dimension we just left were slim because there were 11 others, so 12 all together when we include the one we live in. We don't care how tough it is, we're all going in to get our friend and we're all coming home together. I knew Yubel was setting a trap for me as well as the others but I didn't care, I'd help fix this mess and get _everyone_ back home safely this time; no ifs, ands, or buts, about it.

I saw that we were definitely not in that desert wasteland but a place that seemed to only have night hours all the time. I stayed close to my brother but as we all trudged on, we encountered duel spirits and they weren't too happy to see newcomers. We tried to stick together as a group but somehow Jaden ended up separated from us, as did a few that came with us. I managed to find my way to Jaden, the place we were at was a stone arena-like place with torches and a sense of unease. The sick part was I saw that Jaden dueling some kind of skeleton-based fiend monster called Barron. He was using Alexis, Chazz, and Hassleberry as a sacrifice to make some powerful card that required intense negative emotions. Chazz was a sacrifice of jealousy and hate, Hassleberry was one of anger and pride, Alexis was of fear and sadness. I knew they didn't mean what they said as they were being used like that but Jaden didn't seem to. I knew because I sensed something change in him… he seemed enraged and consumed by hatred, now he seemed to be fighting for a completely different goal. It's like he's not trying to free our friends but to get even. I was horrified by what I saw… something was clouding his judgment and I had to stop him. "JADEN, STOP!" I saw him react to what I said, good he seemed to still recognize my voice. But when he turned and looked at me, I saw that his normally warm brown eyes that held so many emotions were different now. His eyes were a golden color and full of rage and hate, they looked as lifeless as two solid gold coins. "Stay back! I don't know what this guy is planning but I don't care. He won't get you." He said with a snarl, it sounded like his voice was overlapped by something else. I couldn't believe this… whatever was going on with him had to be stopped.

After the duel was over he seemed to calm down and his eyes went back to the brown I knew. I slowly stepped closer to him but saw them flicker back to gold as if he didn't want me near. "Just stay away! I don't know why but I can't seem to calm down. I don't want to hurt you by mistake." I placed my hands up in a way that said 'Its ok, I'm not going to hurt you' as I slowly walked towards him. "Jaden, please… It's me: Crystal, your sister." I saw him start to calm down as he realized who I was. He finally started to realize the consequences of his actions but I stayed by him and just gently put my hand on his. I was glad when his voice returned to normal, I just hugged him as I said "Thank goodness you're back!" he just hugged me back but I knew something was still wrong. As we tried to keep moving other fiend monsters came after him and I sensed that he was only getting worse. "I can't fight this evil like this…" I tried to reason with him but those same lifeless golden eyes came back and didn't leave this time. He shoved me away, but by slapping me as well, and I could tell he was possessed. The Jaden that was my brother and best friend was now buried deep in the pit of his own soul. I couldn't believe this and I refuse to think that he's too far gone to help him. He eventually went missing and I knew he wasn't doing this of his own free will. As I tried to find him, I knew I had to keep my heart in balance; which is why I was so glad my scouts were with me. I sat down in a small clearing and I made a small fire with Sailor Mars's help from her powers. I was so confused and scared but I knew that in order to deal with this mess I had to remember where it all went wrong.

As I looked into the fire, I thought back about everything that has led to this. Jaden's parents were always working late while he was a young kid. He had many friends in our neighborhood but that all changed when he was around 8 years old. His father gave Jaden Yubel's card, but neither of them knew how dangerous she was. She started hurting anyone who fought back against and stopped him from summoning her when Jaden was in a duel. She took it as a kind of insult and that they thought she was a threat. In reality, they just wanted to show Jaden that winning a duel with hard work and enjoying it is better than just playing a powerful card and being handed a win. One day when a close friend to Jaden had, yet again, won a duel; he pointed out that Jaden keeps trying to summon Yubel. He suggested trying a different card but Jaden, as a child, tried to explain that it's almost like he can hear Yubel pleading him to summon her. His friend didn't fully get it and he said it was just crazy talk. Yubel was further insulted by this and was able to cause serious but subtle physical harm to Jaden's friend that put him in a comma. Even when Jaden tried to visit and help his friend, Yubel would somehow be able to make it worse. She continued to hurt other kids and Jaden ended up sitting by himself in the lunchroom a lot because everyone was too scared to go near him.

About three weeks before Jaden entered a contest held by Kaiba corp. to make some cards and send them into space, was the same time I became his friend. No matter how hard Yubel tried to hurt me, she was unable to somehow, we would laugh and play together but never dueled because he was still scared. I tried to tell him to get rid of Yubel's card saying "It's not worth keeping if you're called bad things over it. I don't see how keeping her is going to help, it'll just make things worse." He told me he knew that but he still cared about her because her card was a gift from his dad. That same day we found out Jaden's Neo Spacians won the contest and he somehow managed to convince them to send a second pod into space; one for his designs and one for Yuble. He was hoping that by doing this he was helping to remove whatever what the problem was with Yubel and make it safe for her to be played. A few days later he started to have intense nightmares and he would be unable to sleep. It got so bad he had to undergo numerous treatments so they'd stop, some of these resembled that of an MRI or something. Those were saved for when everything else failed and the problem only got worse. All the while I stood by him; I tried to cheer him up and help him keep his dream of being the next King of Games alive. I would sit beside him and told him that I believed he'd be a great duelist one day, with or without Yubel. As time went on, he seemed to forget her a bit and I viewed this as a good thing because he was able to smile and laugh again, I thought it was because he was starting to heal. Soon he socialize more because the kids Yubel had hurt were starting to get better, he wasn't seen as a threat anymore and he was happier now.

I ended up saying this out loud "So now that she's back, she still wants to isolate him all over again so she can have him all to herself. In order to do that she has to break his will, by hurting and even trying to kill anyone who's close to him. She's trying to scare him into submission so he'll give up his own happiness for those he holds near and dear. Now he's not even the same person anymore… he blames himself and if this continues it could lead to self-harm or harming others to fill that hole. I know what I have to do: I have to help him and show him this wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault that his friends were hurt by some paranoid spirit and it's not his fault that Jesse is stuck here. Yes, he let his temper get the best of him and it cost us our friends but even so, that's really the only thing he should feel sorry for. We can still fix this somehow and if Yubel doesn't like it? She can either jump down that circle to inferno she crawled out of, or she can deal with me." I said as I felt a stronger spark burn in my heart; now I don't have to just save Jesse, but my brother too. "He saved me, now I'll save him"

As time went on we found out that someone, calling him the Supreme King, was dueling anyone in his way. I realized that this evil tyrant was what was possessing my brother. Jim finally told us that his eye was bandaged up because he had a powerful gem embed into the stone-like fastens where is injured eye had to be removed. Jim used this gem, the Eye of Orichalcum; to reveal that Jaden is grief stricken and depressed, he hears Viper's words that called Jaden selfish echoing in his head. There were mirror-like images of his friends fading away one by one. That's when the supreme king stood in and said it doesn't matter because Jaden can't change what did. So what if he's alone? In order to fight evil, he has to be merciless and strike down anyone in his way. We did everything to try to help but because the supreme king's power is directly linked to his life points; it was like talking to someone threw a brick wall, our words and warmth couldn't fully reach Jaden. The fewer life points this tyrant has, the less of grip he has on Jaden but he has an insanely powerful spell card: Super Polymerization. It lets the user fuse whatever monster they have on the field or in their hand with whatever their opponent has on the field. As a result, Jim lost and entrusts the Eye of Orichalcum to Axel but he isn't completely over the shock of someone like Jim, someone who gave it all, lost to someone who cared nothing for another soul.

We eventually went back and Axel said he'll face the Supreme King, we eventually found Syrus and learned that Zane and Aster were here too in order to learn more about Yubel. So the five of us manage to get into the fortress that was the Supreme King's Dark Castle. We used some dark armor to disguise ourselves and with Zane's Cyber Dark Dragon, we managed to get in. Before Axel dueled this evil influence, I begged Sailor Earth to bridge our minds so I can help Jaden. She was hesitant; she believes Jaden can be saved but she refuses to put me in danger. She realized that if we don't take that chance then my brother, Jaden Yuki, will be snuffed out forever. She and I put our trust in the each other, we then used Sailor Mind Meld and managed to pierce through the walls of darkness and saw what Jim had shown us. I used my thoughts to call out to him. "JADEN! JADEN! IT'S ME, CRYSTAL! YOU'RE SISTER! I'M HERE FOR YOU, JUST LIKE HOW YOU WERE FOR ME WHEN WE WERE KIDS!"

As the duel concluded, Axel had managed to end the duel in a tie. I was relieved to find out that, with Axel's noble sacrifice, Jaden was spared from being sent to the stars. We managed to get through to him and the darkness was finally purged. I just wish Axel and Jim didn't have to die in the process. I was tired but overjoyed to see my brother was back, I silently sent up a message of thanks to Axel and Jim for what they did for all of us and for Jaden.

About a day or so went by as Syrus and I took care of Jaden, who was still unconscious and had a fever. I was just so happy he was safe and I was glad to hear that Jesse is alive, but right now I had to focus on helping Jaden. After he came too, I immediately put my arms around him with small tears in my eyes. I saw he was still badly scarred from all these events. I had to take things slowly and give him a few breaks to process the info. Once I completed the explanation, I told him that I wouldn't leave him, not till I knew he was alright. Which I knew he wouldn't be for a while, I knew because he's still battling with the guilt. And so we continued on to find a way to undo this mess and rescue our friends, not just Jesse. However the guilt Jaden had got so bad that he almost let a fiend-monster end him in a duel. The major reason is because his best cards are fusion based, meaning he needs to use the spell card Polymerization. The memory of how our friends were used as sacrifices so the spell card "Super Polymerization" could be made, scared him but this is the weaker version. Even so, just looking at the similar pattern spooks him. It almost cost him his own life but he managed to win.

I ran up to him and hugged him tightly, he just looked at me like he was confused to why I was hugging him at all. He even said he doesn't deserve such a sweet and strong girl like me for a sister. Those words struck my heart, I often felt I didn't deserve someone like him for a brother. So I explained that to him and he looked at me in surprise, he said that he's surprised I could still call him my brother after all he did. I shook my head and looked him in the eyes as I said "The only thing you and the supreme king have in common is you're both strong figures that other people follow, but that's where the similarities end. Unlike him, you have regrets and remorse for any life lost. The mark of a true warrior is humility and the strength of a true warrior is knowing you don't have to fight at all to resolve a problem. While the mark of a true _leader_ is to share the credit when things are good, take the blame when things are bad, but do everything they can to make things right and learn from their mistake so the odds of if happening again is less. The fact that you take full responsibility for your actions while feeling remorseful that you made those choices is what sets you in a whole other category of leaders. The kind of leaders that people will work with of their own free will. Now the supreme king? He uses threats, scare tactics, force, and takes all the credit yet refuses to take the blame when something goes wrong. So you tell me who's the better choice?" he looked at me and smiled softly, his eyes filled with tears as he felt a little better. "I know you mean that and I can't help thinking how grateful I am to have you in my life. Thanks, sis, I needed that". He hugged me and I told him that if we can defeat Yubel then the 12 dimensions will be saved, we'll find a way to save Jesse, and get our friends back. I realized they weren't really dead but rather in a separate place; so if we can stop Yubel, we'll get all our friends back. I'll be there to help him keep the supreme king in check every step of the way.

We continued on, learned that Adrien was here and had made a deal with Yubel shortly after Viper's defeat. If he retrieved her severed arm, left the bio-band reactor on, and acted as an accomplice till now? She'd give him the power he secretly craved. Sure I was worried about that but I saw Zane, who wasn't convinced Jaden was quite ready to duel again, had to face Yubel… who was possessing Jesse! Zane's months in the underground had finally caught up with him because he was struggling with his heart condition. I had to admit, he gave it his all and he seemed to want to go out fighting but before he seemed to die he told Jaden that Syrus still has an older brother and even an older sister. He asked Jaden, Syrus, and I to look after each other. He told Syrus he was always proud of how much Syrus has grown; both as a person and a duelist, even if he never showed it and knows Syrus is in good hands. With that he faded away, I may not have liked Zane and I still think he was a jerk but I could take comfort in knowing I was wrong. Zane did do things that are terrible and that I can't condone but deep down, no matter how much he insisted otherwise, he did care. He just had some screwed up points in his life and was trying to run away from his problem. So this was proof he was ready to own up for his actions and face whatever ugly punishment he had waiting for him.

Before we went on I told Jaden that he has to remember: the only way to move forward is to accept what happened in the past and learn from it but most importantly he's not alone; he just nodded as we were ready to face this. While he dueled, he figured out that Jesse's soul was sealed in the Rainbow Dragon. That was only half the problem, he had to get rid of the field spell that forced the crystal beats to obey Yubel first. He managed to get rid of the field spell and asked me to stand beside him for this next part. I knew he meant he wanted me to help him and the crystal beats reach Jesse's soul. "Oh no you don't" I heard Yubel yell at me. She ordered the dragon to attack me as I run up to Jaden. I saw the dragon fight with everything it had to not attack. I could hear Jesse's voice from inside the dragon "Jaden… Crystal… help me! I can't hold the dragon back for long." I stood beside Jaden but the attack was canceled by the simple fact that, despite Yubel's desires, the rules of the game still hold. So I stood by Jaden as he drew what he dreaded but needed: Super Polymerization. I nodded as Jaden played this spell to prove he was ready to own up for his deeds and was done being scared. I could see Jesse's spirit look uneasy so I called to him "Listen to me, Jesse! This'll hurt but we're right here, so don't be afraid." This forced Yubel out of Jesse's body while also returning his soul to where it belongs, causing Jesse to collapse but looked back up and saw us. "Jaden? Crystal? Is that really you?" he said and tried to get up. Problem was that he was so worn down that he could hardly lift his head and shoulders up off the ground; so when Yubel activated a bomb-like trap that would cause both her and Jaden to lose points? We immediately ran up and got Jesse out of the harm's way and shielded him from the wind and blast. When it all cleared I asked Jesse if he was alright, a dumb question I know, but I just asked out of concern. "Don't worry about me, it takes more than a hostile spirit take over to keep this boy down." He said that but I knew he was faking to try and ease our nerves. I swear he's one of the best and worst liars I've ever met, I should know based on personal experience. Yubel sneered as she said "As heartwarming and stomach churning as this is, I'd like to finish this now that I have everything I need". It turns the other facedown she also had a second trap called "Last Trick". It lets her take a spell from Jaden's grave, meaning that this whole duel was just so she could use Jesse as both bait and a shield, all so she could set Jaden up. I already knew all of this, but I never had the chance to warn Jaden. She took Super Polymerization and I knew she was planning something terrible that had to do with her, that card, and Jaden.

For the first time in my life, I felt like my heart was torn two ways: I couldn't just let Yubel potentially get what she wanted from Jaden, but also I wanted to stay and take care of Jesse too. I guess Jesse could tell what I was thinking by the look on my face because he smiled and said "Crysi? Go help your brother. Right now he needs you more than I ever could. Besides, the fact you came after me tells me everything I need to know, ok?" I smiled with tears of gratitude in my eyes and just hugged him "Thanks Jesse, and I have something special for you after this ok?" I managed to sneak a small kiss on his cheek before I went to help Jaden. I followed after him but as I did I saw these cosmic bubble-like things. They showed me events of the past, it was through these that I saw why Yubel was so obsessed with Jaden. Apparently, she was the protector of the supreme king before he was corrupted by hate and suffering, as such she vowed to keep him safe and eventually fell in love with him. She was originally human, but when she gave up most of her mortal soul for immortality and power for his sake? She became the demonic creature she is now, so she could keep him and anyone who followed in his bloodline but had a strong a resemblance to him safe. I guess she eventually got paranoid and went insane in the end… but I also saw what the Sailor Scouts had gone through. The fall of the all the celestial kingdoms, the sacrifices that Sailors Cosmos and Earth made so that others would live. The fact both Sailor Cosmos and Sailor Earth died alone in the ruins and ghostly remains of their once beautiful and prosperous homes that they loved and tried so hard to protect. That Sailor Earth was the only one of her team and friends wasn't reborn as an ordinary human with her powers dormant inside her until they were needed. I saw their final battle together as the scouts they were before they became duel spirits. I began to understand that Sailor Earth and Yubel were alike in how they would give anything to protect someone special to them but that's where the similarities ended: Yubel let her fear and lack of faith in who she loved and protected cloud her judgment to where she would hurt innocent souls over anything, no matter how small it was. As soon as she saw Jaden, she latched on and tried to keep people away from him. Sailor Earth, on the other hand, encouraged me to make new friends, follow my dreams even if I didn't have my best friend beside me. My friends would always be there in spirit and that was good enough. She reminded me that while she is a shield for my morals, she encourages me to try for myself because she believes in me. She'll always be a part of my safety net to catch me should I fall but she'll still encourage me to keep trying to use my wings so I can fly to a place where I'm loved.

I showed up in time to see that Jaden was able to keep the supreme king in check while still tapping into that power. He learned its ok to be angry but it's when it gets out of hand is when it becomes a problem. "Don't worry Crystal… I'll be fine." I watched this duel play out but as the duel ended I saw him make a choice I knew he'd eventually regret: using Super Polymerization to fuse Yubel with himself! He somehow knew about what happened way before he even came into the picture. I heard Sailor Cosmos and Earth urge me to let my feelings flow freely, so I did. I let my heart and soul show exactly how much I knew this was a huge and terrible mistake. There was still a way to save these worlds, put Yubel at peace, remove the darkness in Jaden, and all of us to go home safely, without needing that damned card. I felt it deep in the pit of my heart and soul. They starred as a brilliant and multiple array of colors surround me. At first, it hurt because the energy built up a lot of pressure in my body but that was because I was scared. I just thought about what I wanted to prevent and I put my trust Sailors Cosmos and Earth, then it didn't hurt anymore. I felt safe yet determined because I knew I wasn't alone, so I don't need to be scared. I saw my Slifer Red uniform change to that of a Sailor Scout. My shirt and knee-length shorts were replaced with a white leotard that had earth brown sailor collar over my shoulders, mid-upper arm gloves that had the same brown at the end of them. The chest ribbon was sky blue, the back bow was Kelly green. The skirt was like sailor moon's mostly white at the top but towards the bottom but it became light green to sky blue. My shin high, low heeled boots were originally red but are covered in earth brown with green vine-like decoration and laces. In the center of my chest bow was gold heart shaped brooch with a solid earth brown gem in it. Right smack dab in the middle was a gem that looked like it had a compass rose design but each point was a different color. I said to them "In the name of Sailor Cosmos, Sailor Earth, and all the souls you hurt, I will undo this spell of tainted unity." I saw a staff with a clear spear-like gem appear. When I took hold of it? I pointed it the image of Super Polymerization as it floated in the air between Jaden and Yubel. The staff fired a blast of black and colored laser-like strike completely out of effect, thus undoing the damage done to make it & stopping the fusion. Then I pointed staff's gem at Jaden, a blast of black and colored laser-like strike Jaden. I saw the soul of the supreme king be removed from Jaden. He passed out and the supreme king was purified but reunited with Yubel. As I ran up to my brother, I couldn't feel my feet touch anything, like I was running on air as I ran to Jaden.

Finally, we could go home! Before leaving, I saw the spell fade into nothing but golden-white dust but I didn't have time to respond. Sailor Earth assured me everyone else made it out. She then told me to let her take it from here, she'll make sure we get home safe. With that, I let her take control and she looped Jaden's right arm around "our" shoulders. Before we escaped completely, we stopped and did the same with Jesse's left arm. Finally, we all made it home! Our arrival was signaled by a small ribbon of colorful lights that allowed Sailor Earth to safely land on the ground but by the time we did… she and I were both on the verge of blacking out. Alexis and the others ran up and my voice surfaced "They're fine but I can hardly stay awake. Take care of them…" I passed out but in a familiar friend's arms. I guess whatever happened wore off from there.

I don't know how long I was out, but while I was I heard Sailor Cosmos explain that the gem I saw form over Sailor Earth's broach was my own pure heart crystal. A pure heart crystal is a physical symbol of a person's morals and thoughts, mine is made of different colors because it reflects the lessons I learned from the people around me. Apparently, I have the potential of a Sailor Scout even though I wasn't born one. It's because of this factor that I'm the only human who's capable of keeping the balance between my abilities and creatures like Yubel with her immense powers. Which is largely why she wasn't able to hurt me, even before I knew anything about the scouts. Sure the supreme king had a similar amount of moral and emotional strength before he was corrupted, but most of it was because he was hardly allowed to get involved in extremely stressful cases. I, on the other hand, wasn't given a choice. I had to endure what I went through; sure I was given a ray of hope but I also had to work to maintain it.

Sailor Cosmos concluded with "This is why you of, all humans, possess the most beautiful and wondrous of all pure heart crystals. It's made up of all the lessons you've learned from the pure hearts of those around you and from your own experiences. You understand the limits to anything deemed as "good" across humanity like kindness, trust, respect, selflessness, and most of all unity. Your pure heart crystal is called the "Pure Heart of Limited Unity". You can use its power but I know you'd never abuse it" she said soothingly and admiringly. It felt nice to hear someone like her say such heartfelt praise to someone like me and mean it. Especially when that someone is Queen Serenity who can silence the room in the ways she can. I may not see it myself but they do and I know they wouldn't lie to me about this. I guess the old saying is true; "everyone has a pure heart but sometimes we're unable to see it in ourselves. Sometimes we need others to see it in us time and time again when we feel at our lowest before we can see it in ourselves." My brother Jaden, my spellcasters & sailor scouts, and my crush Jesse all saw it in me; even if I sometimes struggle to see it in myself.


	9. Chapter 9

I guess I was out for quite a while because when I woke up I saw Jaden and Jesse sitting beside me, they were asleep as they stayed close. I could see they were worried about me by the dried tear stains. I guess they recovered first and saw I wasn't awake yet so they sat by me and cried a little because they were worried about if I was alright or not. I just smiled softly and slowly sat back up before put both of my hands on theirs. My right hand on Jaden's hands and my left on Jesse's hands. I guess the sudden movement woke them up because they immediately opened their eyes and saw I was ok. What they didn't say in words they said in their actions and facial expressions, Jaden hugged me first but backed off after a bit so Jesse could have his turn. I just hugged back, happy that I could feel the warmth from both their hearts, not just my brother. "I'm sorry for scaring you two, but how long was I out for?" I asked for two reasons; I wanted to know how long they had been beside me and also so I know how much homework and school work I'll have to make up for. "Well, we're not really sure…" I heard Jesse say as he backed off. Ms. Fontaine filled us in saying that our friends brought us here one the same day, but they woke up three days later, so they were out for just four days total. I was out from when we were brought here till now. Ms. Fontaine went on to say that I was still out when they woke up, and that was a week ago. Which means I was out cold for a week and four days total. I couldn't believe that I was unconscious for that long, but once I thought it over and what they went through in comparison to me? It makes sense they'd recover in only four days whereas I would be out for those four days but would need an extra week too.

I still had to wait the rest of today and the following day to make sure I was ok. I understand that but I can only imagine the homework amount. I asked about it, but they just smiled as if they knew I'd ask. Jesse explained that Chancellor Shepherd understood our situation so we didn't have any makeup work for this year. Though we will have to stay one more year, meaning while most students who would normally graduate in their third year, like him and Jaden, would be sticking around. Since I was a second year, we'd end up graduating in the same year, hopefully anyway. I couldn't help giggling because I knew what he means which caused Jaden to blush a bit annoyed but he wasn't going to lie about that. He just smiled and took something out of his pocket, it was the medium sized, silver heart-shaped locket that I usually had around my neck. I thought I lost it while we were in those dimensions but I guess he or one of our friends came across it. I smiled as I took it back and opened it. The left side had the shot of me and Jaden and the right had a small picture of Jesse. They must've added that picture while I was unconscious because it wasn't there before. I just laid back down for a little bit, but before I did I said that if they're hungry they should get something to eat. They said thanks and promised to bring something back for me, after all how can I recover if I don't eat something? I just blushed and giggled saying I'd like that.

After I was cleared to go back to my dorms, I headed back with them and saw that everyone was there too. I was happy all our friends made it back, but when I saw that Adrien, Axel, Jim & Shirley weren't here I started to dread. I was glad when Alexis filled me in that they made it back but had to go back to their respected academies. They left me a note though: 'Dear Crystal, we can't thank you enough for helping to get us back home and save the 12 dimensions. We're glad we had a chance to get to know someone like you. Sorry, we couldn't stay long enough to tell you or to say goodbye in person, but we know you'll do fine in life. Your mates, brothers in arms, and potential rivals: Adrien, Axel, Jim & Shirley'. I smiled with small tears after reading it. I'm glad I got to meet them too and I'm glad they got home safe and sound.

Summer had passed smoothly, so now I was back in school. Just like Jaden and Jesse had told me, we were all in the same year. While most students would graduate in their third year; Jaden, Jesse, and the other third years would be sticking around. I remembered that Jesse said he transferred to Duel Academy, but I thought he was joking at first. So when I heard that he was here to stay, I was glad that I was proved wrong. That reminded me that I promised him something special and I planned to make good. Once we had some time alone together I decided to go for a walk with him, "Listen, Jesse, I did promise you something special." I saw him smile and I heard him chuckle meaning he remembered: "Yeah and what's that?" I smiled and said "A duel between your beasts and my scouts. I was thinking how much alike they are and I'd like to see how they'd do; if you guys are ok with that, of course." I was glad to hear him take me up on my offer. I was glad to be dueling with no strings attached again, it's much easier to deal with.

Last year I was a second year so that means I'd be graduating with my friends and brother this year. I was once again a Slifer Red with my brother Jaden, but Syrus was promoted to Obelisk Blue again. Last year he purposely left the Blue dorms, meaning he was in the middle dorms Ra Yellow, so he'd be closer to Jaden and the rest of us in an emergency. Jesse was in Blue just like last year but in all honesty? I think it suits him because he can fun in a more mature way like the sea. He can also be shy and humble, rare as that is, like a small stream over smooth stones. When things get bad? He's calm, realistic, steady, and thinks clearly like a river in most environments used to navigate. So just like Blue suites Jesse, I think red suits me and Jaden; red is often seen as a color of courage, drive, protection, love, passion, warmth, and comfort. It's fitting that its symbol is often a flame of some kind: a wall of protection but it warms the heart. It burns brightly to light the way of guidance and rekindles the tender feels that are brought in peace. It can be courageous and passionate but the core is the drive to keep loved ones safe which is why it has to be kept in control or it can be destructive. Which is why the red we wear is complemented by our brown eyes and hair, a color that can mean warm and sweet like chocolate yet strong and sturdy like the earth. So yeah, the different shades of blue and green work great for people Jesse and Syrus, but for Jaden and myself? Red and brown are the colors that suit us best.

That evening after dinner, I sat in my room writing a poem but my scouts had something they wanted to talk to me about. I saw them all looking proud with how I handled the challenges that life has thrown at me. They hugged me and I could feel the warmth from their hearts, even if they're transparent now. I saw that despite the laughs and hugs, Uranus wanted to tell me something important but I guess she decided to hold off for now.

With that I went back to writing my poem about what was on my mind for now. 'Safety is feeling the ground under you even as you fall, knowing that someone will be there to catch you after all. So whether I run on the ground or fly through the air, I feel secure because I know you're always there. Even when I fall from a tall height, I know that the ones I love will help make sure that I'm alright. With them by my side in person or in spirit, I know I have what I need to overcome any dark pit. I can fight and crawl my way out on my own but it's still great to know, I'm never alone. That is what safety is to me and that is why I can fly freely. I that know if I fall, you'll be right there through it all. So why should I fear such a thing, I can get back up because it's nothing new to me. I'll dream to the sky but keep my feet on the ground because I know you'll keep me safe and sound.' I had finished that last line when I heard a knock on my door. "Who is it?" I asked. I heard Jesse's voice, for some reason I snickered as I said he could come in. It was weird but I knew I wasn't in any danger. Which is why I didn't send him packing when he asked if he could come in, I knew I wasn't in danger and I knew he was a good person.

He asked what I was writing and I showed him my poem, but I was blushing a little. I don't really mind if people don't like my works but it did feel nice when they did. He smiled and said I really put some thought into my writing but wondered if I often write poetry. "Sometimes, though I do have a picture I'm working on." He smiled as he said "I'd like to see it if you don't mind that is" I just chuckled a little and took my black, hardcover, sketchbook. I opened it to the page with a dolphin jumping through what looks like ocean spray. "I haven't put the colors in yet, but I plan to use pale but lively colors to give it that dreamy or celestial appearance." I blushed a bit because I probably sound like a space nerd or something. I saw that Jesse wasn't laughing but looking at the picture he lightly moved his hand over it ever so faintly touched the paper. I knew what he was doing, he was seeing how that would feel using his imagination and sight rather than an actual sense of touch. He smiled and finally said "I think that would be an awesome idea. I mean lots of people are used to seeing a sunrise, sunset, nighttime, or just a regular setting when they see animals like dolphins. But something like what you just described? I doubt people would expect that but can still see beauty in it." I smiled softly but brightly and asked if he really thought so. He looked at me; his eyes were a unique mix between sea green and light emerald. They were warm and fun like a tropic sea but the shine bright and clear like fine cut gems. He smiled and nodded once when he said "I know. I mean with someone who takes their time when it's the black and white state like this? How can it not be?" I saw what he meant, I looked at it as if I wasn't the person who drew it. It was beautiful and well detailed. The lines were soft but well done. You could almost hear the crash of the waves as the dolphin leaps from the spray. Now just some color and we'd get the message of 'Space can be lively and beautiful, but only if you stop and see'. We went over the fact that because tomorrow was Sunday, we'd duel tomorrow afternoon at around 2 pm in the typical arena in the main building. I smiled and said I'd see him there, he left with a smile and I got ready for bed before curling up and drifting off into sleep.

The next day, before I went to duel, I reminded myself that this was just for fun. So I don't need to worry about stakes or anything, just to have fun and do my best. Normally I let my opponent go first out of curtsey but he said he'd let me take the first move. I looked at my hand: Two monsters, two spells, and a trap. I smiled and started off with "Sailor Jupiter, in attack mode. But I also play these two face down and end it there." Sailor Jupiter, the Scout of Thunder & Lightning (1200ATK/1600DEF). She had light skin-tone, Kelly green eyes, and her thick, long, rust-ish brown hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. Her coral-ish red rose earrings showed her tender and loving side despite her reputation for being the muscle of the inner sailor scouts. Her uniform was of Kelly green in her skirt, choker, glove ends, tie-up low heeled boots, sailor collar, chest gem, and v-circlet gem. Her back bow and chest bow was in light pink, which ties everything together; the image of a flower that stands in the storm's wrath. She smiled at Jesse and winked at me, before saying "Dang girl, how did you get so lucky?!" I knew she was teasing me but seriously, right now? "I'm really sorry about her, she has this thing about saying the right thing at the wrong time" he just laughed and said it was fine. He summoned his Amethyst Cat (1200ATK/400DEF) I saw how her light pink fur looked silky-smooth and healthy, like a well taken care of house cat. However, she proves that despite her looks and regal yet determined voice that inside this house cat beats the heart of a lion. I could hear her purring in her speech when she said: "Well then, this is an interesting predicament." Jesse looked like he was amused yet concerned by her joke. "Easy Amethyst, we're just here to have fun." I wondered if he thought I either wasn't tough enough or if she tends to get carried away. Either way, I was glad for my trap just in case he deiced to attack me by using her effect. "I figured you'd use a trap to stop my cat, but no such luck because my spell Mystical Space Typhoon whisks it away" I realized he was sharper than I thought. So much for my Negate Attack, that would've saved me but still, what's done is done. "Now by cutting her Attack points in half, she can pounce directly. Play nice, Amethyst" with that she jumped high over my Jupiter and dealt 600 points of damage. When she was done, she proudly went back to her place in front of Jesse.

I may have gotten knocked down but I got back up and smiled. "I'll place this facedown and end it there" he said with a smile. I drew my own card and saw it was what I would need. "So for starters, I'll play the spell: Second Summon. Now for 100 points, I can normal summon the monster I had waiting but an additional one too. So now, Sailor's Mercury (900ATK/1000DEF) and Neptune (1600ATK/1300DEF), time to show what you're made of. And here's the fun part, for every water based water on my field, Sailor Jupiter gets an extra 400 attack points. Next, I'll play the equip spell card Deep Sea Mirror, this lets my Sailor Neptune show me what you're hiding on the field once per turn. If I think it's any are potential threats, then I can destroy those. For now, I think I'll spare that one and play my Sailor Tag Team. Now whenever I have two or more scouts on my side of the field; then one of them can attack you directly while the others deal with your monsters. Regardless how many you have on your side. So I'll just have Sailor Jupiter handle you and my Sailor Mercury will deal with Amethyst." I saw her use her Aqua Rhapsody to turn Amethyst Cat into a precious gem that is moved to the spell/trap zone. Sailor Jupiter sent 2000 points of damage to Jesse. Take off the 1200 that is deducted from Amethyst's Attack points, he's left with only 800 life points, or at least that would have been the case. My Jupiter had set off his trap; G force. It forces my Jupiter to attack a beast in his hand, not him. The monster in question was his Ruby Carbuncle. Not bad on his part, he was a step ahead on that one. "Though I have to say, I am a bit stumped. Why wasn't your Mercury destroyed? Unless…" I smiled, he figured half of it out. "Unless she has a special ability." I finished. I looked at Mercury and let her explain, her light and airy but delicately subtle British accent sounded like the high notes of a harp as she spoke "Well you see, when one of my fellow Inner Sailor Scouts like Jupiter is on the field, I can't be destroyed in battle, but I also get a small power boost if Sailor Neptune is here with me. I get 400 extra attack points; so because I started with 900 and I get 400 extra from Neptune? My score attack points are 1300." Which means he would have lost if he didn't have G-Force on the field, so this duel is still on.

I was glad to have Mercury here, but I did hate the idea of little Ruby being hit by her attack. Well, she took one for his team just like Mini Moon and the others would have done the same for me. "I have to admit Crystal, your scouts are just as strong as they are pretty, but then again so are my beasts. Here's proof; I play my Amber Mammoth (1700 ATK/1600DEF) and trust me, he might be big and loud but he's a softy. For now though, I'll have him attack your Neptune. It's nothing personal" I saw the four-tusked behemoth of an elephant trample Neptune into the clear ocean spray she's associated with. "Oh ouch… and now Mercury's points return to 900 and Jupiter's become 1400. So now I'll just put this face down and call it a turn" he said in response. So now I have 2300 life points and my two scouts while he has 1500 life points, his Amber Mammoth, Amethyst crystal and Ruby crystal. I decided to at least try to tie, not because I was pitying him but because I wanted to use my other scouts too. I had used my whole hand last turn so now I drew a new one and saw I had Sailor Mars, Fire Charm spell, Sailor Earth, Monster Reborn, and Mirror Force trap. Fire Charm is an equip spell lets Mars singe one monster on the field & one in his hand, without boosting her points. Plus her special ability sends all fire element based monsters to the grave on the turn she's summoned, then half those monsters attack points are sent to Mars. While Sailor Earth, a 6-star monster, can protect all monsters on my field when she's in defense mode. If she's in attack mode, then her points increase by the combined power of my monsters cut in half. Meaning all my monsters original attack & defense power is clustered together, then that number is sliced in half, and sent to Sailor Earth. "I'll summon my Sailor Mars (1120ATK/2000DEF) in attack mode and I'll equip her with Fire Charm. Now once per turn, she can singe one monster on your field and in your hand. Good news is if the monster's original attack points are higher than 2000? Then you only take damage for the monster on your field. If it's lower than 2000 it's cut in half. So for now, I'll hold off on my attack and just end my turn."

He smiled and studied his hand before playing Rare Value. "I just send a crystal beast from my spell/trap zone to my grave and I get to draw two new cards. Sorry, Ruby but you'll be back soon" he drew his two cards and looked like he got what he wanted. "For starters, I'll play Topaz Tiger (1600ATK/1000DEF)" I saw his tiger in battle before but seeing him in person is another story. His fur was white as snow with the usual black stripes, he had longer eye fangs than a typical one, but he also had a curved blade coming out of his head. Unlike his fierce exterior, he had a deep, warm, and confident voice kind of like James Bond but without that annoying air about him as he reminded Jesse something. "True enough, so let's put it to the test. See he gets an extra 400 attack points but it only lasts when he attacks. Like right now" I saw his tiger land a nasty pounce on Jupiter. That took me down to 300 points but I was enjoying myself all the same. "I'll leave it at that," he said with a smile. I was surprised, he could've attack with his mammoth so why didn't he? "Ok then, time to show you what Mars can do. So now she can send your Topaz to the grave and a beast from your hand with him." I saw Mars glow in her celestial fire and her paper charm turned into two small phoenixes. One dive-bombed Topaz and another got what I think was what was Emerald Turtle, and Jesse only lost 800 life points which left him at 700. I decided to leave it there, and he played his "Sapphire Pegasus (1800ATK/1200DEF), now thanks to him I can take Ruby (300ATK/300DEF) out of my grave and play her. She has a special talent too but I won't use it. I'll just have Sapphire Pegasus do the honors. Sorry Crysi, but you lose this one" his alicorn sent a whirlwind of damage at me but I accepted my loss with grace. "Thanks Jesse. That was fun." I said with a laugh.


	10. Chapter 10

He smiled and said he had fun too but wondered why I held off on most of my attacks. I just said "Well because I have 12 Sailor scouts and I hardly get a chance to show what most them can do. So I held off on winning so I could see what my scouts and your beasts could do in a friendly match. That's all." I was happy to have him around but for some reason, I had this sneaky suspicion that we weren't truly out of the woods yet, this was just the eye of the storm. Even so, I decided to stop hiding and open up little by little because you don't meet people like him very often. I walked back to the blue dorms with him for dinner, namely because he insisted and it was raining so we'd have a shorter distance to run. When we got back to the blue dorms, felt really out of place here. I mean I was used to the cutting stares from the girls in the spate obelisk blue dorm, but the ones from the guys? I wasn't used to those, but it was only half that; the rest felt like they were sizing me up. I just walked on with Jesse and ignored it as much as I could, but they were whispering & mumbling as we walked past. So that definitely didn't help but maybe I was being a little paranoid. I saw Jesse looked a bit upset by this like he knew what they were saying and the fact almost all of them were staring at us wasn't subtle at all. A duelist named Gorisuke had used a wolf whistle at me and asked Jesse something foul. "You sure have strange tastes. If you want a girl with nice legs and is high class then go for a-". Jesse had cut him off with "That's none of your business, nor is it anyone here's business. At least Crystal has a little thing called "self-respect". She doesn't care about dorms or popularity. She looks to the person inside, so back off." I didn't expect that but I had to admit I liked him standing up for me. "An' if you have a problem with that? Then bring it up with me but, leave her alone. She's been through more than you'd ever take the time to listen too, let alone understand." He said before we headed to his dorm… I couldn't help but hug my arms, where my ugly and shameful bruises were hidden by accessory sleeves. "I wish people would learn to shut their mouths. They don't even know you, not like I do anyway" he said with a soft arm around my shoulders. I felt my face burn but I didn't shrink away, I just stayed put and walked into his dorm with him.

I saw that it was nice and spacy but definitely lived in, the hamper of clothes and somewhat wrinkled bed sheets showed it. I smiled and sat down in one of the small extra chairs, the leather was soft and comforting. He went down the hall to grab a soda, he asked if I wanted one. "Well if they have lemon-lime blast, that would be nice but if they don't water will work too" he smiled and said he'd be back soon, and that I was welcome to put on any music I like if I wanted. I looked through the music he liked, quite a verity. He had punk rock, 90's and early 2000's country, some hip-hop, and a few others. I saw a cd that had a collection of songs from different musicals like Le Miserables, Hamilton, Rent, Phantom of The Opera, and a few others. I saw him come back and he handed me a lemon-lime drink, I smiled and took it. I saw Ruby and one of my monsters playing around. The monster in question is my kitten with a golden crescent moon with its points facing the sky. Her name is Diana, she had dark pink eyes and pale gray fur. She had a red collar with a little brass bell on it. She could speak like people do, as do her parents Luna and Artemis. Luna, a black queen with a tint of dark blue shine to it, she has red eyes, she has the deep voice of a worrisome and slightly nagging mother and her "husband" Artemis is a pure white tom with bright blue eyes and a slightly raspy but deep voice. They both have the same insignia on their foreheads, meaning that they too are a part of the Moon Kingdom. They aid the scouts by gathering any information the scouts might not be able to themselves; Luna typically aids Sailor Moon as a faithful companion while Artemis does this task for Sailor Venus, their daughter Diana is learning to do this for Sailor Mini Moon. Even so, that doesn't stop her from making friends with duel spirits like Ruby. I saw that Topaz and Amethyst was enjoying time getting to know Artemis and Luna. "Those six seem to be getting along nicely." I said with a giggle.

Jesse saw how Sapphire and one of my other duel spirits, Helios were talking off on the side for a bit. Helios is actually a human who has a gift for shapeshifting into an Alicorn, which what Sapphire Pegasus really is. An alicorn is basically what happens when a Unicorn and a Pegasus have a baby together. The cause between for this is in Helios is still unclear to me. "I wonder how Helios ended up the way he did, and how he and my crystal beasts seem to be old friends." He said with a wondering but sad tone. I looked at him and replied with "All I know is that when the scouts were still scouts, Helios and Sailor Earth both protected a beautiful kingdom of crystals and dreams that was hidden on Earth. It was supposedly a safe haven for them, Prince Darien, the crystal beasts, and the Rainbow Dragon. They all worked together to protect their home and that of the peace between all the celestial kingdoms. This kingdom was called Elysion." I sighed sadly… Jesse looked at me with a smile but it was one of concern.

I felt that unwanted warmth of an embarrassed blush quickly to my face, but his voice was sympathetic "You're really close to them… and Jaden… and all our friends… and yet you keep me so distant. Is it really that hard to let me be there for you?" I felt my tears well up as I hugged my knees close, clutching my arms while I did. "Jesse… It's not just you" I saw his smile and warm eyes. Those warm and bright eyes that were a rare mix of Emerald and Sea Green looked like he wanted to hear this. So I uncurled my legs away from my chest, just let them dangle a bit from the leather chair I was sitting in. "I guess you should know what you're getting into. What Mars and Jaden said about my past is true; I was abused greatly and that's lead to me being reluctant to let people in." I knew this was nothing new to either of us. "Crystal… this may not make sense to you at first, but if you asked any of us how we would describe you? You know what I would say?" I looked at him with sadness but curiosity in my mind but for once, openness in my heart. "I'd say your mind is like a clear night sky in winter; cold from pain, dark from fear, but has memories that shine like the brightest of stars to guide the way." I smiled but it was out of amusement from how I would have said something similar. His continued statement surprised me a bit, "Your heart, I would say is like the sturdy and strong like the earthy ground that's shared by all lives. Your soul? A brilliant and steady flame that burns to keep hope alive and warmth in life. Now your body? I'd say one of a healer, protector, but a victim who's suffered in silence for far too long. You'll wear yourself down if you take on more than you should."

What happened next I only felt. "I want to help you, but you have to let me first; I will never break you or use you the way others did. Please… I won't leave you even if you push me away. I know change won't happen overnight and you'll need time to let you're glass walls to crack and crumble. Just remember, I love you and I will never deliberately hurt you." I heard his words and I realized he was hugging me towards the end of his statement. I felt his arms around me, those arms that were strong and kind of built… I remember that when Yubel possessed him, she had opted for a shirt that made him look threatening and his arms look more exaggerated then they really were. His normal shirt hid his slight muscles well and now I felt them, but more importantly I felt his gentle but strong love. Just like a home, I felt safe. I felt like even if I fell, he would catch and protect me, but it was a warm place too. I smiled, took a deep breath, sighed in relief, "Thank you for understanding Jesse." As I hugged him back I asked him something "Maybe sometime next week, you could tell me more about yourself?" his soft nod and slowly backing off out of the hug told me he'd like that. He had walked me back to my dorm that night and I saw the sky studded with bright stars. The path we took was a dirt path that led from the obelisk blue dorms, across the main entrance to the school building to the red dorms. We could have cut the woods, but that would take too long because of the bushes and such. So in daylight, cutting the woods would be ok but at night, that's a no go unless it was an emergency. I smiled as we said good night and felt that small rush of romance in my heart again, but for the first time in a long time? I didn't run from it like in the past, but I didn't rush it like when I first realized I had a crush on him… I basked in it and felt it even as I slept peacefully.

The next day, in advanced duel tactics 101, we found out we only had morning class for the next week because of a dance. I wasn't for this idea because of how it would either over done or full of jerks that would start crap. I wasn't sure what scared me more: going to a blowout dance with equally blow hearted students or fighting evil while coping with losses? I guess I wasn't being fair… I love dancing in ballroom style but I can't stand floofy or painted on gowns. I can deal with semi-casual dresses and lose and fun dances, but I can't dance to fast-paced club songs that have ridiculous looking movements like on TV. Hence why I wasn't too fond of this especially when I knew I'd end up just hiding near the food and punch table or at a sitting and standing area. Besides, the only thing I had was a semi-loose knee-length dress in pale sea green. I had a sleeved cardigan in sky blue with small silver decals to cover the tank top like shoulders and my bruises that have been embedded into my skin from years of pain. I am a decent dancer, but only to songs that people would normally call "through backs" just because they aren't popular or they're older. Either way, I doubt I'll find anyone willing to dance with me because of ridiculous things. All that said, I just decided not to go unless someone asked me as either a friend or just because.

As the week closed, I made good on my promise and met Jesse at the middle point between our two dorms. We walked to the lighthouse that's just off the loading docks. Yes it was closer to red dorms and, just like how we headed towards his dorm earlier in the week, we met in the middle and headed to the lighthouse because it was closer to my dorm. The best part? We could talk in private because the splashing waves and distance from any other large buildings would make it impossible to eavesdrop on us. So we sat there on the concrete dock by the sea, our backs to the small beacon that functions like a lighthouse. I reminded him that he did say he'd tell me about himself but to remember: if doesn't want to talk about it, I would never force him too; unless it was for his own good. He told me about his small hometown in the southern states of the USA. He's mother was understanding but a bit of a worrisome woman, even so he loves and respects her. His father was a good man who is open-minded, it's his grandparents that are the ones who are the stereotypical kind of people. Even so, he has a sweet cousin name Elizabeth, who he calls "Liz" or "Beth". She's strong willed and fun too but she helped him to see that being a duelist by both trade and passion can be rewarding. He just hopes that she doesn't lose her fight to cancer. It's in the mildest state for now, but her parents worry about her regardless. They were more like siblings then cousins which is why she told him that he has his dreams to chase. He doesn't need to worry about her, she already gotten her dream. So he shouldn't let something like fear clip his wings and tell him how high he can fly. "I guess, my family is my strength and where my morals were molded too." he said with a laugh. I smiled softly. I could see he missed his home but in a way, I could relate; sure my family isn't mine by birth but they love me as if I was their own flesh & blood as well as helping me to mold my morals too. I have the blessing to be here with my brother but I guess Jesse feels like we're his family by bond rather than by blood.

I saw a glimmer of a question lingering in those emerald sea eyes, as he said in a shy tone and a nervous shake to his voice "So, I was wondering… uh if you're available or interested… would you like to…" he seemed to struggle with his question but I kind of guessed it. He wanted to ask me to the dance but he knew I was more of a wallflower than a "dancy daisy". He sighed in mild frustration and I followed with "'if I'd I go to the dance with you', right?" I said this in light amusement. A dust of pale pink crossed over his cheeks and nose as he said "Well yeah. I'm not asking as a date, I'm asking as a friend. I mean…" He scratched the back of his head with that same mix of shy frustration like before. He sounded like he was tangled in his words again. I giggled as I said "I understand what you mean and I'd like to go with you, as friends." I was happy he understood that change doesn't come quickly and that this was a huge step for me. I smiled as I thought how this is nice; he admitted his feelings for me but understands that: despite everything we went through last year, it's going to take time for me to be ok with romance or even stereotypical romantic scenarios. It's not dense behavior that's holding me back, it's the scars the run deep into my heart. While everyone would think we should be together after all of that, it doesn't work that way. So what if we go to this particular dance as friends? If things continue to be like now, we might actually end up a couple by graduation. He laughed and said "That's more than fair, thanks". He gave me a side hug and I nuzzled him softly. The sunset was nice as we watched it together, as friends who have a shot at romance.

I honestly don't remember the week of the dance but nonetheless I do remember the night of the dance. It was simple yet beautiful, I saw how the dance was laid out in a subtle yet delicately elegant way. Hell even Jaden, someone who didn't really care for fancy things thought it was beautiful but not because of overly glitziness. He saw the beauty of small and simple things as I did: formal doesn't always mean suave, uptight tuxedos and skintight but moveable gowns, with yawn-inducing and stereotypical classical music. It can be fogged and shined glass. These were molded and cut like crystals on the tables. The soft yet slightly sheer fabrics that drape from doorways and wrapped around poles that held the signs at the entrance and photo spot up. The music was fun, lively melodies and a few beautiful slow songs too, all played on instruments associated with classical music. Jaden and Jesse looked great in their three piece suites and black sneakers that could easily pass for dress shoes. Syrus? He was dressed like the others guys, but I could see he was just as nervous as me. Alexis looked stunning in her knee-length dress that was light cream with royal blue sash, her light blue gloves, and her silver heels. Blair looked cute in her pale pink knee-length dress, and bronze heels. Now me? I don't know why, but everyone stared at me. I was sporting my semi-loose knee-length dress in pale sea green. I had a sleeved cardigan, in sky blue with small silver decals, to cover the tank top like shoulders complete with grey heels.

I saw Syrus and Blair were going as friends, as were Jaden and Alexis, I stayed by Jesse but I wasn't sure if coming here was a good idea. As I sat down in the table area for a bit, I thought about a girl I read about in a book once. She was beautiful, smart, she knew right from wrong, and voiced it loudly. She often would do this in the form of peaceful protests but she was also a warrior how had to take down people who were considered "too far gone". So when she went to a dance with a friend that she had crush on? She was scared because of what she carried with her; she stood up for those who were ridiculed because she knew that pain. She hid it under a subtle yet obvious piece of clothing. Even so she felt that running from a problem for no good reason & retreating from a fight you realized you couldn't win alone weren't the same thing. She believed that her leaving a toxic influence when she realized she was in too deep was being a coward. She thought when she ran from the idea of being judged by people who didn't know her secret was shameful. Even with all of that on her shoulders, she was still strong and beautiful despite her suffering in silence, and she eventually embraced what she believed was holding her back. She learned that leaving a toxic influence is protecting not just yourself but others too, that running away from a fight you can't win isn't weak, that retreating for the time being was a defense, that slowing down was a necessity not a luxury, resting is a form of slowing down, & that it's fine to have something that drives you to your goals, but if you let that control you? It'll destroy you and the ones you care about. So we walked out on to the gym floor where the dance was held, I couldn't help wondering "Is this was what she felt on that night?"

Despite what people or life had for me tonight, I was determined to enjoy myself; so when a beautiful, slow song came on, one about a strong love despite bad times and distance? I thought about when Sailor Moon was still Princess Serena dancing gracefully but lively with her love, Prince Darien who was also Tuxedo Mask. I danced in a graceful but lively way too, as if I was on a cloud but still grounded with my crush and friend, Jesse Anderson. Everyone starred but for once? I could care less, it was like I was seeing a beautiful dream but it was real. I was so happy I came to this dance and even bad news wouldn't be able to ruin this moment of peace for me. I knew peace and turmoil were interlocked and that's fine because times of turmoil make the times of peace so much more meaningful. As the dance ended, Jesse and I walked back to my dorm. Before he went back to his dorm, he smiled and said "You know, for once the brightest stars aren't in the sky. They're in those beautiful eyes of yours. They're sturdy and grounded like the Earth, yet warm and sweet like dark chocolate. Well goodnight, Crystal." I smiled and said to him "Well Jesse, yours remind me of the calm and warm tropical sea yet they shine like emeralds. Sweet dreams" and with that I got ready for sleep, and went to bed.


	11. Chapter 11

Once the Saturday morning broke, I saw that it was lightly raining but that's fine. The kind of weather you would either sleep to or you'd sit and read or watch TV or talk to friends with to. As the cycle of peace and turmoil would have it, my Sailor Scouts had appeared and looked at me like something was off. They had shown up in times of peace to laugh and joke before, but when it comes to peace with hints of uncertainty laced in it? We would talk about the matter in a sense that was relaxed but serious. I got up and as I enjoying breakfast, eggs and biscuits, we talked something over: why Jaden and I were such magnets for evil creeps. It turns out that every person alive is born with two of the three Mortal Moral Treasures. The first one is called a pure heart crystal; this is a physical symbol of the holder's morals, beliefs, and thoughts as well as how they all need each other. It's shaped like a compass rose but the main points of north, east, south, and west are most notable but the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest are secondly most notable. The north point is mind, the east point is trust, south point is body, and the west point is emotions. The northeast point is trust in the knowledge and wisdom that you do have, but knowing that it's ok that you may not have all the answers right away because you'll find them in time. The southeast is trusting that you're strong enough to endure, but that it's ok to slow down so you can rest before going into a fight. The southwest point is emotional drive that keeps your body moving when you're either retreating for safety and rest, but also acting as sword and shield for both the innocent and yourself. The northwest point is doing what you know is right even when you stand alone, while also being forgiving but honest with yourself when you know you are the one in the wrong. Through this learn to see and acknowledge constructive criticism vs destructive and hateful words while being able to give the same to others. When all of these come together in the center of the person's heart? They form a soulful symbol called a pure heart crystal that serves as a moral compass.

Every person alive is also born with a soul seed; it's like a long diamond that has a point at the top and the bottom, it serves a physical representation of a person's soul and essence of a life's existence. So if it's taken from a person, they either: end up corrupted or attack others out of misguidances, an empty shell only to be manipulated, or they just die. These are located a few inches above the heart but buried deeper in the body because it flows through us like our blood. It's only when a threat manages to find a way to attack us at a certain point in a spiritual way that it all retreats to the center of the body and can be forced out in a physical form: the glow within the seed is the meaning to "a sound soul". There's one more, but it's one that is developed as child, it's called a dream mirror; these are rounded rectangular shaped mirrors that hold a person's hopes, goals, and desires. These can come in many forms; dreams that a pretty standard like careers or of family or love are represented by a simple light colored mirror. A phantom mirror is made of platinum like colors and shows these things; they're fueled by people who have either abandoned their dreams because they thought they were too big, or they were filled with so much sadness from disappointment or disapproval but they can imagine what a dream must feel like. Finally, the nightmare mirrors… these are gothic designed mirrors that reflect the fears, doubts, and malicious intentions a person holds in them. There are some that look like standard dream mirrors but are in darker shades. These typically reflect dreams of the same kind but fueled by hate, anger, pride, or greed. These ones that are extremely dangerous because they start as pure and innocent dreams but they're slated and stained with the fear and mistrust of nightmares they slowly change into a twisted nightmare in the guise of a sweet dream.

There was an air of discomfort in the room as I heard Neptune say "The ones you need to be concerned with are the Pure Heart Crystals and Soul Seeds because unlike other humans, you have two pure heart crystals and two soul seeds but they work together in harmony. Your own pure heart crystal and soul seed as well as the ones of Sailor Earth." I was confused as I was a bit worried. "We know this is a lot to take in, but we had to tell you before we explain any further. If you need a breather, just say so." I heard Uranus say. After a few minutes, I said "There's more to it than just that, so what is it?" Sailor Pluto was the next to speak "As you know, some forces of evil and darkness are driven away by pure and good influences because they would have been destroyed by mere touch; that's just how they function. However, others of this naturally dark force flock to those who have high levels of purity and good intentions in them. Namely to either taint these people and their moral treasures in order to manipulate them or to take these and drain the sheer energy from them." Sailor Mars was next to speak "and that's why you and Jaden have such reputation for being attacked these things, but it's not just you two. There are others who have this too, even if they aren't fully aware of it themselves." She placed a reassuring hand on my mine. "We're not telling you this to scare you; we're telling this to warn you because we don't want our friend to be kept in the dark about this." Cosmos gave her point on this "The sad and unfortunate fact is there's always a few rouges that will find their way to us. We as Sailor Scouts, stood as a symbol of comfort and protection but now we're duel spirits who are dependent on the one person alive who can use our powers but never abuse them. They'll do anything to take pure hearts from others to get what they want: which is for us to cease our existence."

I thought this over, it sounded a lot like the reverse of The Society of Light. The Light of Destruction wanted to snuff out anyone in its way for power but it also tipped the balance of light and dark while creating even more confusion between the two. "So basically this new threat wants the balance to be in favor of darkness; but because you're standing in its way it has to find a resource of powerful energy to get stronger. It'll do that by taking these moral treasures and draining them of whatever makes them that way. In order to find these it'll likely target people who give of a sense of high levels of pure and good morals. People like Jaden and Jesse, or those who may not have much but you can tell they're good people just by looking at them, for example Syrus and Atticus. Right?" They all nodded sadly. Sweet and sensible Sailor Mercury spoke up now "Crystal… we know this is hardly new, let alone fair to you or your friends but believe us; if there was a way to stop this without getting you all involved, we would. No one should ever have to give up so much of their happiness, especially after all the pain you already went through." I knew Mercury was right, not because of intelligence but because the scouts have also suffered greatly and want to keep others from that pain too.

My scouts just want me to be aware of this but what good will that do? These types of badies won't settle the matter with duel disks and cards, they'll use some kind of bizarre weapons and powers to take our very lives, with or without bloodshed. "So how do we handle this?" I asked and Venus responded with "We carry on with life as normal but keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary for the academy. They already know who we are and what we do. So now we need to gather any and all helpful information but we have to be discrete about this. By doing this we can avoid causing a panic." I had to admit: for someone who tends to be a ditzy, celebrity seeking, appearance concerned, romance and drama driven, and can be slightly obsessive when she wants to fit in or jealous of extremely eschewed reason kind of girl? She had a valid point, she may behave like a regular and somewhat misguided teenage girl but she has her moments where she can be realistic and make some pretty smart calls. That's when Sailor Moon, who's pretty much the same as Venus, chimed in "Guys come on. This is Crystal we're talking too and we all just got out of a crazy mess with some equally misguided duel spirits. Let her enjoy the time of peace while it lasts and we will handle this as it comes. We all know these things take time to go through, so let her enjoy the blissful peace while doing her part, ok?" That's the first time I ever heard Sailor Moon talk like that for my sake but I had to admit, it made me smile. She understood how I felt and the severity of this task. She also knew obsessing over it and not to taking the necessary time I need to learn what I need to know, or to rest and recover won't help anyone; let alone save anyone. That being said, I continued with life like normal but kept an eye out for anything odd.

So the weekend passed with no signs of anything out of the ordinary (well for the school anyway), when the week starts up on Monday, I kept any eye open for any suspicious behaviors but was relaxed the whole time. That night I had another dream message but it was different from all the others somehow, most of the ones before were warnings. This one seemed to be a reminder of what I already know and revealing events I need to know. I saw two different kingdoms: the events of what happened when duel monsters was created in Ancient Egypt but also the time of the Celestial Kingdoms and their time of peace, the Silver Millennium. I saw important battles that lead to the fall of both kingdoms. The events that were interwoven between Yugi's adventures and that of my scouts. When Yugi and his friends had succeeded? Then scouts would face an enemy, when the scouts defeated said enemy? Yugi and his friends would take on another. This continued till the end of what appeared to be Yugi succeeding in helping the spirit of Pharaoh Atem in restoring his lost memories.

That's when I saw last battle the Sailor Scouts fought… Queen Galaxia. She was a ruthless queen who was dressed in golden and brass-ish colored armor-like dress that stopped at her knees. She had strange choice in her minions, who were animal-based humans that had metal based titles: Aluminum Siren, Lead Crow, Iron Mouse, and Tin Kitten. They had golden cuff-like bracelets that matched the ones Galaxia wore. They had a huge gem on the part that would cover the back of a wearer's wrists. I saw how she would recruit them; the victims would surrender their soul seeds and the bracelets would keep them alive and make them stronger. She spared no one; even the people who willingly signed away their soul seeds weren't safe. If they failed a huge assignment or they spoke up to explain themselves or try to atone for their mistake, she'd take back the bracelets along with their lives. I saw the battle of Queen Galaxia of Chaos vs Eternal Miracle Sailor Moon and the aftermath of it. This was supposed to be when all the scouts would enter the afterlife together as one because they had completed the task of their parents before them. All accept one, Sailor Earth… she was nowhere to be seen in any of the events that happened after the fall of the Silver Millennium. Was this how they had found me after these events? I saw that the scouts were unable to pass on, they talked about how it would be wrong for them to spend the afterlife when they could still sense something evil is still on the loose. To make things worse, they still don't know where Helios and Sailor Earth were. They knew that the crystal beasts and the rainbow dragon were safe, but that hardly helps when two out of the three who were supposed to protect and befriend them are still missing. Prince Darien, who goes by the alias Tuxedo Mask, agreed; he may not be Helios and Sailor Earth's brother by blood, but he refuses to rest in peace until they find their friends and put them to rest too.

These next words from Sailor Pluto had filled me in on something "We need, not a scout or warrior, but a soul who is sturdy and sound yet warm and bright. The one with a pure heart that can unite others but knows that some limits are meant to remain unbroken." The next voice I heard was Sailor Saturn "We need a person who has this pure heart but they must have a sound soul. We all know that is found in a sound mind and a sound body, but we learn these by fearing not the darkness or light itself but by being concerned with what hides inside or beneath it." I wasn't sure what this meant… do I have what they need? Sailor Uranus spoke next "These are all things that can be learned and understood; but to be sure, we need someone who can prove it to not just us, but themselves. If they can use this in one part of their life that's fine, but if they can't use it in other cases then how can we be sure?" Sailor Cosmos spoke next… she was the one at the gates to their afterlife. "You will know by the feelings you get from this person. Sailor Earth has already found this person. So all you need to do is have faith in them, be patient if they are not who you would chose at first glance, and finally believe in them and in Sailor Earth's judgement. She's a better judge of character than she seems." I saw them nod in understanding. I slowly opened my eyes and saw my room was so dark I could hardly see my desk across my room. I knew this was my room and that if anyone was here? They wouldn't be able to make a move without making a sound too. I also knew that there would be some kind of sense of ill will in the air or something. I felt none and I heard nothing so I felt safe, even in the dark.

I think I understood now, all these things I learned while I went to school here; but I need to improve them if I ever hope to stop this thing that threatens us. I saw Sailor Earth appear next to me, her soft smile and warm eyes were a lot like mine. Dark brown and sturdy but sound, I understood we look and act a lot alike but we're two different souls. She was born a Sailor Scout but I was born as a regular girl. "Sailor Earth?" I asked. She smiled as I asked "Will you and the other scouts, teach me what I need to know on how to fight this threat? I know they won't duel us like here at the academy, so I want to be ready. I-". She smiled, closed her eyes and held her hand up when saying "I know you would never go looking for a fight, you just want to know how so you'll be ready." I smile and nodded softly. "Then you've taken the first step, now we need to keep moving forward while learning from our past. First thing after class, homework, and look around, we'll go to the woods to practice. Now, get some rest because you'll need it" I heard her say. And so, my new task has begun and the test to prove what I have learned is ahead. This is a test I can't take twice so either I make it and live, or fail and everyone loses.

The next morning I woke up early so I could get my tasks done. I had a lot of work to do and little time to do it. Throughout the day, my different duel spirits would search around like any other. See as long as the duel spirits can retreat to their cards or the spirit world, they can roam around like any other person. That's how Jaden gets tips from Winged Kuriboh or Jesse gets tips from Ruby, because of their special bond that's found in a few duelists. They're able to see and hear their duel spirit friends and so can I, but they have their task: when I'm class or at lunch with friends? They search around and bring back any info. Recently I had seen a strange figure slinking around in the woods near the Ra Yellow dorms. This thing is sticking to the areas that are easy to hide in and near the front of the school. It's easy to ambush students either between classes or when they go to the main school building, a friend's dorms, and back to their dorms. I had seen some of the damage to them, but so far none of the students had lost their pure hearts crystals. Once they woke up though, they were just fine. I had to do private, one on one, casual conversation with them to find out what I needed to know. Each of the victims said their attacker was dressed in an all-black outfit and had a weapon of some kind with a star that glowed in a certain color. Each victim saw a different colored star staff or weapon that had a star on it. They felt like they were being pulled in by something but they're body's won't run away. That's when they heard a trigger word and then followed by "Heart" and they felt like they're heartbeat was racing out of control. I thought this over and thanked each one for their time before heading to the woods by my dorm.

I was glad I was spending an hour at dusk to train for this threat. I would spar with one inner scout for 30 minutes and do spiritual exercises for 30 with an outer scout. The next night I would spare with an outer scout and spiritually train with in inner scout. This would be the pattern I follow for two weeks and improve each time little by little. I was glad when we took breaks when the first 30 minutes were up, because we got to talk about what we found out. Sailor Jupiter started us off, "Well I heard some of the students saying that the stars they saw were black first then glowed in a color that seemed to match one part of their attacker. When they came to, they saw a different person but all of these attacks were done by a girl." I heard Sailor Mars follow up with what she found out. "I did a little looking into these events and saw that there were around 10 different girls. The only problem was for each one, there were only two attacks pulled. I don't think that this is a multi-person job though; I think what we're dealing with is a being that has the power to shapeshift." I asked what she meant but Mars explained "If it were a different person each time, the aura around them would be different in some way or another. No two people have the exact same aura; not even those with multi personality disorder because it shifts to match the personality that is currently in control." Mercury agreed with this but said that she's been getting strange readings on her mini laptop. "I think it's caused by one person using great levels of spiritual energy to cause all of these changes and attacks. But what puzzles me is if this person, or whatever it is, can adorn the powers of the person or creature it shapeshifts into." I had to admit, that is impressive but concerning as well. We got our answer quickly because I heard Jaden screaming. I ran towards the sound " _Jaden, hang on! This thing better keep its filthy powers off him! He's been through more than enough!_ " I thought as I found him and saw a horrible sight.

I saw Jaden was pinned against huge boulder in here in the woods, but I couldn't see anything hold him there. Jaden wasn't the only one in trouble, Jesse and Atticus were too! They were both pinned up against a tree. Atticus had dark brown sporadically arranged hair, similar to that of his sister Alexis, with a large portion trailing the upper part of the nape of his neck. His eyes were the same shade as his hair but warm and fun like my brother's but could be dead serious when he has too. He wore a standard white-coated Obelisk Blue uniform, flowing out the coat's lower back. Under his coat he wore a long sleeved shirt that fit him appropriately, he wore standard dark grey pants, and matching boots. He was the older brother who had mysteriously disappeared into the old abandoned Obelisk Blue dormitory of Duel Academy. Jaden and his friends helped save him during Jaden's freshman year. I however met Atticus in my freshman year when Jaden was missing. He can be funny, cheerful, and lively but serious and strong-willed at certain situations. He's that funny and understanding big brother who tends to be moderately protective of his little sister but backs off when she's got things covered. He's a lot like my brother, even down to the fact that he has to deal with how Jaden has obvious romantic feelings for his sister Alexis. Now Jaden is dealing with that same potential romance scenario between me and Jesse. Even so, I couldn't draw attention to myself yet; I needed to access the problem, I saw their attacker. I stood behind a tree and saw the assailant from the side, it was a young woman. She had blue eyes with her matching hair tied in a side bun that had trailed into braid on the rest on the left side of her head. Her outfit looked like a black pixie dress that came down to the back of her kneecaps. The bust of the dress had a black stripes over the blue chest place. She had ankle length leggings in blue with black criss cross stripes going down her legs. She had boots that came up the middle of her calves. All the blue parts of her outfit matched her hair and eyes. The star in the center of her staff glowed same color, but the rest was a brown cane whose top twisted like an infinity symbol.

Her voice was cold and moderate in depth and pitch as she laughed at Jaden's pain. The sheer spiritual energy she was using to try and force his pure heart crystal out was causing his hair and clothes flutter wildly, like he was standing in a mild blast of wind from a dying geyser. His screams were just like in my dream messages; screams of agony, fear, suffering and so much more. I wanted to help but I didn't know what I could do. " _Don't just sit there and watch, go out there and knock her down a peg!_ " I heard Mars urge me in my mind. I knew she was right, so I connected with Mercury and thought about her mist attack. I felt the cool air and moisture collect in my hands, then I slowly extend my arm in a swift but forceful way to send thousands of mist-filled bubbles that burst all at once and created a fog. Now I had some coverage, then I switched to Mars's foresight by tapping into her fire-based intuition. I focused it into my eyes, now I could block out the energy kind hearted people so I could attack this chick. I jumped from my hiding place in the bushes and tackled this blue haired chick. I held her down with my knee and bent her arm back, the left side of her looked up at me and I said "I already know why you're here and what you want. So who the hell are you?!" She smirked and said "I'm Matilda, and I'm more than a half-baked Sailor Scout like you could hope to handle." Suddenly her staff set off a powerful blast that blinded me for a second. I saw that she had lifted the fog and had changed her appearance. Now she has green hair tied into buns of some sort with some hair loose at the bottom, as well as black thread-like circlets going across her forehead and the top of her head. She has green eyes, and pink, ball earrings. For clothing she was sporting a similar black dress with the same thread-like things going crisscross up and down her arms. A black star holds her dress and the threads together. Underneath her black dress is another layer, wears tights with more thread going crisscross up and down, and black shoes. The tights and under skirt were the same green as her hair and eyes.

I saw the binds that kept Atticus in place were thick green vines and they were starting to glow a bit. What she did next was look at a flower next to her foot. She held her hand, the black star on her necklace glowed green as she held her palm down. She said "Heart Growth" and a green mist shot from her palm. It made the plant transform from a harmless flower to a deadly monster! He screamed but she just laughed while saying "Fret not dear, this lovely flower specialty is sucking pure hearts from their owner". She turned and smiled as she said, "Oh and ensnaring pesky girls like you!" I saw this thing use its thorny vines to try and grab me. I was really in a bind now: Jaden's unconscious, Atticus is getting his pure heart removed, Jesse can't get loose, and I have to avoid not just this plant but accidently stepping on Jaden's pure heart crystal. They're really fragile so if I break it, I end up killing him! I grabbed a low branch and swung upwards so I could get the momentum I need to jump from here, to the trunk of a tree, then use that to immediately push myself toward her and knock her over, and away from my friends. I managed but she had killed her own creation in the process of attacking me. She glared deathly at me and again a blast of light shot from one the stars on her.

This time it was the one on her headdress that glowed and she became a girl with white-blonde hair, ice-blue eyes, and tight form fitting clothes in black, light blue, and white-ish grey, she had a cuff-like bracelet on one of her wrists. She had a sleeveless bodysuit, the top that covered her chest was an ice pattern with whites and light greys, and the torso was 2/3s black. The outside lines of the hips had the same ice pattern as her top half, shins of the legs of this bodysuit were a light blue. She had matching boots on and looked like a frigid ice diva. Her hat was a strange Lolita style but looked more like she freeze dried a jellyfish and put it on her head! Her choker is where one of her black stars were, the other was on the top side of her cuff-like bracelet. "Now you'll pay and trust me: this won't be a quick freeze!" She flicked the back of her cufflet and shot a blast of cold around my legs. They were covered just a few inches shy of my knees but it wasn't the worst. I felt a painful surging through them "What did you do to me?!" she smiled and explained "Thanks to my cufflet's powers, as long as you're trapped in the ice? All the blood in your legs will thicken. Soon you'll either pass out or die from the nasty side effects, either way you'll be gone and I can continue my work. Oh and don't bother trying to melt it; that ice is so thick that even you if did, you wouldn't be conscious long enough to move afterwards. Now watch as I steal the very heart you tried to save. I know all about you two and your emotions… it's sickening! So turning his physical heart into an empty hunk of ice will be the most fun!" she laughed as she flicked her wrist and targeted her white blast as Jesse's chest… I saw little black specks in that blast "What are those?! There's more to it that just freezing it over!" she smiled coldly and responded "How observant of you. Yes, you're correct, the flecks that you're seeing? They cause the same thing in your legs... so you figure it out. The only way to stop them in this case? If you destroy my cufflet!" she sneered in satisfaction. I didn't have much time, I let the burning fire of Mars flow through me and it melted the ice relatively fast. I then called on Venus to help out, in my hands there was a flickering of light, I thought about the song that Venus and I liked as I called on her best tool: Chain of Love. This was a golden chain of metal hearts flowed like a ribbon but hurt like hell if you're hit with it. I then asked Mars to add her sacred fire to it. I knew it hurt only those with malicious intentions. I saw the chain glow brightly as the fire consumed it and so with this, I sent the fiery chain right at this creepstress! I managed to grab her cufflet and crush it, but she got away! "Damn…"

I saw the binds fall away and them fall over onto their sides or face first. All three of them looked pale as death. Sailor Cosmos instructed me to just place the crystals over the owner's chest, they'll go back on their own. I set to work immediately; first I place them all on their backs to make it easier. Then I placed all three crystals above their chests for all three of them. Each one went back inside their rightful owners, restoring the color to their faces. Now all I could do was wait while keeping them safe. I checked them for fevers or other problems, Jaden and Jesse both had a fever but Jaden's wasn't as bad, Atticus had a minor but deep cut in his arm. They just needed to rest and I had to help them as much as I could. Like always, I had my emergency scarves pouch; so it was lucky there was a small stream nearby. I took four of my scarves out and dampened three of them. I used one of the damp ones to clean Atticus's injury and then took the dry one to cover it. The other two I used to help cool the fevers Jaden and Jesse had. I thought about what I would say when they woke up: I decided to just be honest with them about it. If they asked about it then I'd tell them rather than hiding, I mean how else am I going to pull this off? I thought about what happened here: each one suffered greatly and pleaded for that witch to stop hurting them. I realized now that they, well Atticus and Jesse at least, must have seen me. I mean how could they not? And yet they didn't say a thing, they didn't tell me to run away, they didn't tell me to get help. Normally I wouldn't be surprised but this is different for obvious reasons.

I saw them wake up and slowly sit up, but Jaden was still out of it. I knew his crystal was outside of him longer, so it's going to take longer for him to recover. Jesse was the first to ask "What was that… that "thing" that attacked us? And where's Sailor Earth?" I understood now why they didn't tell me to run. They must have thought that Sailor Earth saved them, but how? My uniform didn't change, or at least that I had noticed. I sighed and "That thing was a shapeshifter, but it seems to only take the forms of girls with some kind of dark powers." I saw there expressions change to shock "Don't worry she's gone, for now anyway. As for Sailor Earth? Well…" I explained everything to them. The pure heart crystals, the new threat, what happened to the sailor scouts, and why I'm the only one who can channel their powers. I saw Jaden steadily open his eyes and sit up. Once I knew he was ok, I clued him in on the subject but I saw all of their faces held a look concern. I knew why: they were thinking about the spirits that had possessed them and how it only confirmed the 99.8% cases of possession. The sad part is that they've only seen, heard of, and experienced the most noted forms of this.

The first is just straight up force once the target is scared, whether it's for themselves or others. The fact that the victim might be tired or something only made it easier. That's what Atticus and Jesse went through when they were possessed by two different duel spirits: Atticus was a victim of Nightshroud and Jesse was a victim of Yubel. The second form was when the victim is haunted by something that caused them to feel guilt or had a terrible experience. This lets the invading force to come off as a trusting and loyal friend. Something to confide and to take comfort in but really it's just trying to use and corrupt the victim by making them think they're doing the right thing to correct whatever was wrong with them. This is what Jaden went through with the Supreme King. What they don't know is there is a third form, and it's based off mutual trust and completely voluntary. These cases are often mistaken for the second form of possession but that's not true; what makes it different is if the host knows they don't need the spirit to be as strong if they did have it. This is true for myself and even Yugi Moto himself; we don't need the spirits but we do ask them for help because the ones we work with wouldn't abuse our trust. For Yugi it was the spirit of his millennium puzzle, Atem; as for me, it's my Sailor Scouts. In both cases the spirits are unable to do much of anything unless they're right beside their host. The spirit is the one who is solely dependent on the host but understands the value of trust and acts as a guild, a shield, and occasionally a sword but only if the host needs them too, otherwise they back off.

I explained this to them and ended it with "I understand it's hard for you to completely believe. I mean based on, not just what you've always known about it but you're negative experience with it? It's only natural for you to doubt but I have seen all three sides to the argument. The truth is that it's not a matter of whether you believe me or not that's important. What's important here is what you do with this information." Jaden looked a little confused "What do you mean by that?" he asked me. I smiled softly with sadness in my heart as I said "I mean: it won't matter if you believe my words or not. What matters is if you trust my judgment enough to keep your mouths shut till further notice. You see I wanted to tell you when I found out a few weeks ago but I knew that would cause a panic right away if too many people over heard. I wanted to tell you but I had to keep it from you all because I still don't know the whole problem yet. Now I told you all that you need to know for now, but when I find out more I'll keep you updated. Sadly, I have to keep this hidden from everyone else till further notice, it's not just their safety but mine too." There was a silence but I knew why. This was a lot to take in and after everything we just had dealt with. Jaden was the first to speak "Ok we won't say anything, but if this starts to affect our friends? Then promise us that you _**will**_ tell them" I told him that was my intention the whole time, including with them just now. I saw them realize that I was starting to change for the better. Before: I would be running from this and keeping it away from others for only their safety, thinking I had to protect them at all costs. But now: I let them in on this. All while knowing that whatever happens, I can lean on them but be strong enough to face this because I'm never truly alone. That all being said, we went into our humble red dorms. I had just noticed it was dark out now and we probably missed dinner.

Once we got back, I made something for them and then helped Atticus get regular cleanings and bandages for his injury. He smiled and said thanks for the information and the help. He and Jaden went to bed for the night but I asked Jesse if he could spare a bit. He smiled and sat down so we could talk, "You handled that rather well… even with what you and Jaden went through. How come?" I felt stupid for asking but he just smiled and softly chuckled as he placed a hand on top of my own. He just looked at me and answered with "I understand where Jaden stands. I have a younger cousin who is a sweet girl but is diagnosed with a mild case of cancer. I feel like I have to do what I can to help her life be a little easier. So I can see why Jaden is so protective of you. The fact that I've also been possessed in the same sense as Atticus, helps me see where they stand; so I understand Jaden's concern in that particular case. However, because I'm not your brother but I am Jaden's friend? I can empathize with your standing point. Now I won't say anything and I will trust your judgment but I also worry a bit because of my own experiences." I smiled and told him that I think he's a great guy. He asked, out of curiosity if I had found a crush or something. I saw that he at least wanted a definite clue about my feelings in regards to him, in a romance sense, because he told me his feeling for me. I giggled a bit as I said "Well I do have a crush on this guy I know. He's really sweet, caring, fun but realistic, he's a lover and a fighter, a protector and a healer. Problem is until I beat this thing, I have to use subtle hints to let him know my feelings. But I can say this for sure: I'm a lucky girl to have him in my life." I smiled and walked up to my dorm. That should be enough of a hint, for now anyway.

After thinking things over, I decided that I had to do some more information gathering to find my answers. To do that I had to go over the various scouts and their powers in order to fully understand them. I guess the first place to start would be the planets aside from the royal Moon family and Earth family because there are three important people in each. Each scout is a princess of her own respective planet; except for: Queen Serenity, Princess Serena (and in the future "Queen Serena"), Princess Rini (or Small Lady by the court titles), Prince Darien (or in the future "King Darien"), Helios (or High Priest Helios, or for some odd reason "Pegasus") and "Princess" Terrassa but more on them later. First I have to start with the "Inner" scouts: Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter.

Princess Amy or Sailor Mercury: the scout of intelligence, wisdom, & fresh water like rivers and lakes. She's the favored daughter of Mercury, the trickster god, medicine, business, travel, but most importantly, the Messenger of the Gods. Her cerulean hair and her eyes are as beautiful as bright sapphires. Her light pink skin is as clear as a pale pink lotus petal. She reminds me of a fairy I saw in a book once, where she lightly danced across the very surface of the water. With each step, I could hear a note play; that's what I think of when Mercury and I sing together on our own time. Her voice is light like a flute but with the melodies of a harp playing together. Her swimming is like watching an otter lazily but playfully cruise through the water, barreling, diving, speeding, coasting, and just moving with the water at its speed and her own. She's more quiet, thoughtful, and rarely loses her temper but she's loud when she needs to be. Her true dream was to have a big family and to be a successful doctor like her mother before her. She also wants to bring dignity back to her father's name (Mercury) but sadly until this mission is complete? That dream may not happen. She's the brains of the crew who uses reason and logic to form a game plan but has the force of a waterfall, speed of a river, & icy mist-screens? She's far from weak.

Up next is Princess Mina or Sailor Venus: the scout of Love & Beauty. With her sunny blonde hair, bright blue eyes, soft pearly pink lips, & clear ivory skin. She comes off as the picture of perfection, even to me. As the first born daughter of the goddess Venus, it's normal for her to get lots of guys fawning over her. Being a teenage girl? It's normal for her to be fawning over guys for different reasons but she still has yet to find Mr. Right, despite having a heart of pure gold. Deep down though? She longs to be loved, but not as "Sailor Venus" or "Princess Venus" but as "Mina". She's not very smart but what she lacks in brains; she makes up for in an independent spirit, initiative, spunky, charming, and her strong sense of "righteous fury" when someone other than yourself is scorned. She was the last of the inner scouts to be found but the first one to regain her scout's abilities. She was working alone for a bit before Serena aka Sailor Moon was able to regain her own abilities. Like Sailor Moon, she has her lunar cat who can take human form when necessary. His name is Artemis, a pure white tom with emerald-blue eyes, they change from solid green to solid blue from time to time, but most days? They're bright blue like Mina's, but like Luna and his daughter Diana? He has a golden crescent moon in the center of his forehead with the point sticking straight up. He's been working beside her since he found her and helped her discover that she is Sailor Venus. So needless to say? If you scorn her, you're in for a bad hair day. If you scorn someone she cares about or someone she's trying to help? You had better hope she doesn't find you!

Now for Princess Rei or Sailor Mars, the scout of Scared Fire and Battle Intuition. Her long raven black hair and black-violet eyes are enough to enchant or strike fear into one's heart. Her powers aren't as strong Sailor Moon or Earth's but don't think she'll go easy on you should you prove to be a threat. She uses purification charms to enhance her fire-based attacks and to expel evil spirits. It's fitting that her most powerful attack is the bow and arrow of the sacred flame. Her crows are her most readily recognized familiar, but when she needs the big guns? She calls out her phoenix. The fact she's an amazing dancer and karate trainee definitely helps her out. Her own mother, Vesta is the cool headed and quiet priestess in the family. She's also the reason why a large part of how Rei can be such an excellent exorcist but her father, Mars is the god of war. This can explain Rei's longing to be strong and is often very proud. Rei herself is actually a very cool girl with the heart of a warrior but the warmth and gentleness of a maiden.

Next is Princess Leita or Sailor Jupiter, with her rose stud earrings, copper-brown hair, and dark green eyes? It's no wonder why she's a flower that blooms in a storm. Her element is thunder and lightning like her father Jupiter. However, her mother Juno is considered a great source for marriage aid or cooking. Though Leita's incredible at fighting she's also a very caring and loving girl who loves fashion, romance, and cooking. Her true strength lies in her ability to stop a fight before it gets out of hand, standing up against bullies, and never letting a dud of an ex-boyfriend or crush get her down. She'll always be there to support her friends, so remember the fact that she's a black belt in karate if you plan on messing with them. Don't worry about her too much, she can take care of herself.

This brings us to the Outer Scouts; Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, & Pluto. These girls' powers are twice as strong but strength in force isn't always what matters. What separates these scouts from the inner scouts is the fact they're the first line of defense from outside threats of our known solo system. Secondly, they each have one of four Celestial Talismans that only they can use: Uranus's Space Saber, Neptune's Deep Sea Mirror, Pluto's Celestial Garnet Orb, and finally Saturn's Silent Glaive scythe.

First of this group is Princess Trista of Sailor Pluto. Her dark fuchsia eyes can be warm and calming, light and playful, serious and deadly, or sad but sympathetic. She has dark tan skin and blackish-green hair. It's pulled into a small bun on the back of her head with the rest flowing freely in the air. She often sports bright crimson red v-shaped earrings and bright fuchsia lipstick. She's the daughter of the god of the Underworld and Death itself, Pluto. Ironically, her powers are of Ice, Space, and Time given what goes into that responsibility. Her most readily used attack is "Deadly Scream". It's her own spiritual energy channeled into her Celestial Garnet and then Trista can send the attack at her enemy in with a stream of grey smoke behind it. The impact is like being hit by a cannon but blinds people for a moment before taking full effect. Her true powers without her staff are time travel through the hearts and minds of those she's closest too or to that of her allies. Her charge is guarding the Gates of Time all alone and she must never leave. The only exception is if she has a more immediate task to attend too, for example, the destruction of one planet in the present that she's assigned too. Trista's Key of Time allows her to unlock the gates if her fellow scouts need to travel to a certain time in history. Now her Garnet Orb allows Trista to show others events based on facts and hone in on vital objects like the other three celestial talismans or the two celestial crystals. This orb is also the key to the most taboo thing Trista can do and she will be severely punished if she does it: stopping time itself. Trista is a kind, strong, and loving soul who is often very lonely but very brave. Time for her is forever slowed to near frozen, she basically transcends time itself.

Next of this group is Princess Hotaru or Sailor Saturn. She's the only known daughter of the god Saturn who strangely is the god of Time and Space. The story behind that is he and Pluto aka Trista's father felt that Trista would be better suited for the powers of time and space. As for Hotaru? Her powers are centered on Darkness, Silence, & the Life Cycle; life, death, and rebirth. This power, however, doesn't come from herself. Like her fellow outer scouts, she has a tool that allows her to carry out this power, hers is called the Silent Glaive. How it works is Saturn wields it and the glaive does the rest. It can destroy everything and end all but two lives in an entire galaxy! She has a heavy responsibility on her shoulders as she is the only person who can use this weapon. This is why she uses it primarily for defensive moves like "Silent Wall" of "Silent Surround". The lesser attacks are "Revaluation Ribbon" which is a sphere with a ring around it and a DNA-like ribbon trailing behind it. The damage it causes can knock an ordinary person on their back and the back of their head on something hard. Her actual power is healing wounds, she places her hand above it and channels her energy to heal the wound. She's mostly associated with darkness because of her ties to death and destruction but she's really a gentle and kind soul that is anything but even remotely evil. Hotaru may seem like she's dangerous but she's actually a very sweet and lonely girl who just wants to have friends despite how hauntingly powerful she is.

Which brings us to Princess Michelle or Sailor Neptune, the daughter of the god of the sea himself, Neptune. Her medium teal hair, deep blue eyes, and a wide range of notes in her voce are all suited to her. Her voice can be playful and warm like the spray on the beach. It can be calm and serious like the steady waves that go to and fro on the surface. If you get her mad? Then her voice can be like taking a chance with the undertow and changing the current: a bad idea. Her eyes perfectly show this as well, though it can be hard to tell given how her more "adult rated" jokes are often said in the worst of cases. As one would expect, her powers are centered on the sea: its waves, tides, currents, undertows, and its storms. This comes from her attack call "Deep Submerge" and the way it works is it sails above the ground like how a boat sails on the water. She channels the energy into a sphere of bright seafoam and has sea water trailing behind it. The impact is like being hit by a wall of stone. But she also has an amazing intuition that also her to anticipate when trouble is approaching just by the wind's notes, listening to the sea's waves, and her dreams. Her mirror allows dispel illusions, reflect attacks, and even get a glimpse into the future. Her favorite means to calm down are playing the violin, painting, sitting beside the water and pacing a conch shell near her ear, visiting the aquarium, and of course, swimming.

This brings us to the last of the outer scouts: Princess Amara or Sailor Uranus. Amara is the daughter of the Sky God, Uranus. Her element is wind and her greatest strength is her speed and agility. The only scouts that could go toe to toe with her in a fair physical strength-based battle would be Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Earth for their slow and steady but "direct approach". She can channel the power of the wind into a bright yellow sphere and send it straight at her target. The move is called "Word Shaking" because it stays on the surface of the earth and can cause rough vibrations, even minor tremors in the ground. The attack then lifts about a foot or so into the air to hit the target. The impact it leaves is like being hit by a blast of hot or freezing wind. This is the attack that allows Amara to leave direct but quick damage. Which is why the Space Saber is her best friend in battle because when she channels her wind powers into it, it can send one or multiple blades at her target with a speed that even her legs can't reach. She's the hardest of the four to get past her cold defenses but it's because she tends to see things in black and white. Other than that? Once you've earned her trust and respect, she'll fight beside you and even give you a rare compliment. She doesn't believe the sex of a person has anything to do with what a person can do. She also doesn't let something stupid as a person's sex define who a person is and who they can love. In her eyes? Love has no gender and as such? Her fellow outer scouts recognize that Amara is both male and female. If anything? She makes a handsome man and a beautiful woman warrior. Amara also answers to male & female pronouns or of course her name.

Now we come to the Moon Kingdom Family: Queen Serenity or Sailor Cosmos, Princess Serena or Sailor Moon (Aka "Neo Queen Serenity" in the future), & Princess Rini or Sailor Mini Moon (aka "Small Lady" in the future). They are one of the two most powerful of the Celestial Kingdoms that house one of the two powerful Celestial Crystals: the Silver Moon Crystal & and the Golden Dream Crystal but more on those later. First up is Queen Serenity or Sailor Cosmos and the start of the Moon Family line. She's also the mother of Princess Serena aka Sailor Moon and grandmother to Princess Rini the Small Lady aka Sailor Mini Moon. Queen Serenity was the first ever Sailor Scout but she gave up her title as a "Sailor Scout" so she could start her family and live among the celestial beings in peace. This peace between all the planets and the lives on these planets caused her such joy that she cried a few tears. One tear became the silver moon crystal that we know now. It symbolized how so many things became one and one can be shattered by hate and petty problems. The celestial leaders all agreed that Serenity should be the go-to leader should evil try to divide them. She wasn't perfect but she was a fair, kind, and gentle ruler.

Her daughter, Princess Serena aka Sailor Moon, shared her mother's likeness in her powers to unite people and see the good where others may not. Serenity and Serena are the rays of hope on a dark night, they use peace and selfless sacrifices to enable them to overcome the impossible and endure the fires of the sun. However, there is one thing that Princess Rini, the Small Lady aka Sailor Mini Moon can do that Queen Serenity or Princess Serena can't do: use both celestial crystals. Rini's ability to see potential friends in a person where others may see an enemy. She also is one of the only two who can see magical beings and the Crystal Beasts in their true forms. Rini is the sweetest dream and has the purest surgery smile. Her powers are focused on her desire to be strong like her mother and grandmother before her: Unity, Togetherness, Joy, and Teamwork.

Now for the Golden & Crystal Earth Kingdom of Elysion. This is the home to Prince Darien aka Tuxedo Mask, Princess Terrassa aka Sailor Earth, the High Priest Helios aka Pegasus (despite his Dream Form being an Alicorn), the Crystal Beasts, and the Rainbow Dragon. This kingdom flourished and was well protected by a special barrier so that ordinary humans couldn't find the kingdom. This barrier was meant to merely protect the kingdom from danger, not exile the family from the world. The crystal forest often looked so beautiful yet frightening because of how they're shaped like spikes coming up out of the ground so very few visitors come to see this place. Even so, Darien and Terrassa were fair and kind to those who came to them in need of help. They had two jobs: protect and help the people is their first job, the second is to protect the Crystal Beats and Rainbow Dragon from those who may try to hunt or abuse these beautiful creatures. He's also the older half-brother to Princess Terrassa, best friend to High Priest Helios, love of Princess Serena, the son-in-law to Queen Serenity, and father to Princess Rini the Small Lady.

Prince Darien aka Tuxedo Mask's powers are centered on stunning an enemy for a temporary amount of time as well as using his own life energy to heal those he trusts. Other than that, Darien uses his extendable staff as a sort of sword in combat but he's well adapted to a sword too. Overall he's meant to help keep the team from having a breakdown, protect those he cares for, and help protect the universe from danger. Darien's a kind and reasonable young man who has the leadership skills of a king even if he hasn't exactly mastered sword fighting yet, but he does know karate and knows how to choose his battles and teaches the scouts this as well. Speaking of Princess Terrassa aka Sailor Earth, she's Princess Serena's equal and best friend. In fact, the two were like sisters with how close they were and they're future in-laws. She's daughter-in-law to Queen Serenity aka Sailor Cosmos. She also was made godmother to Princess Rini, the Small Lady aka Sailor Mini Moon.

Princess Terrassa aka Sailor Earth's powers are centered on vines, petal and leaf storms, sandstorms, & defensive walls. She can use vines to pull her allies to safety, her spiritual energy can heal her allies. Terrassa's planet attack, "Vital Earthpulse", form two kinds of orbs in her hands: one green orb to send a kind of spiral attack of leaves that knock the enemy to the ground where as her brown orb sends sandstorm spiral blast of sand, gravel, and dust at her enemies. The petal storms can cause hallucinations, she can manipulate the chunks of stone to form a wall of earth to create a defense. The way she typically does this is manipulating the debris that can be caused by the scout's attacks.

This brings us to the last member of the team: Helios, the Alicorn of Dreams. Helios is a child born of the Sun god, Apollo. He's a handsome young man who has whitish-teal hair and light amber-orange eyes. He has a simple white knee length tunic with a slit up to the belt which is a black chord tied with a knot. His striped sleeves that seem to come from a shirt underneath the tunic which is adorned with gold embellishments in a "v-formation" each having blue tassels dangling down. He wears white pants and white pointed boots and silver dangle earrings shaped like small spikes like Saturn's. However, Helios's earrings were held in with rings, not studs. The role of protecting the Golden Crystal of Dreams is a suitable one for him. Due to an attack on the kingdom of Elysion, he endured an accident that caused the crystal to become part of his physical body. Through the crystal's magic, he grew a horn of a unicorn from the top of his head. The crystal then encased itself in that horn but this also allowed one other thing to happen: if he can find a sweet and beautiful dream in which he can hide and rest in? He can change into a snowy white alicorn: a horse with wings like a pegasus and a horn like a unicorn. As I conclude the research, I thought about how I had found the duel spirits of Helios and Darien but that was only half the task. Now I had to finish the fight that they left off at. I knew that I could only keep those that I would trust with my life informed on this.


	12. Chapter 12

**(I want to apologize in advance for how bad this one may be. I'm not good at fight scence and am trying my best. Please be kind for this first time at writing a fight out.)**

The next day I had gotten some unsettling news; students were being lured to the forest and fall unconscious but with no known cause. I got a pretty good guess what this was, a sleep spell that causes hellish nightmares and I had to stop it. I headed to the blue dorms to update the group, but on the way I found Syrus laying on the ground in the same state as the other victims. "Syrus, no!" I shook his shoulders and tried to get a response but nothing. He was stuck in the same nightmare limbo as the others, his eyes were shut tight and he looked like he could bolt upright from fear at any minute. I saw what was in his hand, it was a small mirror that had a clouded look to the glass. I knew mirrors could be used for mediation and for sealing spirits in them but they also can be cursed objects if the soul sealed in it isn't kept in check. I had to find out what was causing this and fast, so I looked into all the cases. Each one was a victim of that shapeshifter and had a portable mirror or mirror-like object when they were hit by that spell. I looked into all other similarities and found each was known for dreams, kindness, courage, and some were labeled as "debatable but accepted" morals. I looked further into these ones and found that they made the unpopular choices as a means to save more than just themselves and those close to them. I started to get it now: each one was unaware of how high their purity levels where one way or another and where paying the price.

I headed out to the Blue Dorms and I told the others my plan: to go into the dream world and stop the problem at the source. Jaden just looked at me like he understood it but Atticus yelled "ARE YOU NUTS?! That plan is suicide!" at me when I told him what I had to do. I knew that going into a nightmare kingdom was a gutsy and crazy plan but if we're going to save anyone? We don't have any options. "I know that Atticus, but what other choice do we have?" I told them about the queen of nightmares, Nehelenia. Her power is from causing nightmares that can either be terrifying or make you think you're safe but really you're not. You're at her mercy and she'll end your life in your sleep at any time she chooses. She was sealed inside a mirror but she's still able to affect others: she strikes when you either walk past or look into a mirror at night and then while you sleep? She messes with your dreams and either drives you to sleep deprivation, madness, or just kills you in a dream. That's why we have to enter her world and stop her there or everyone she's hit already will be killed! "Now do you want that to happen?" I asked as I held my ground in a calm and serious way as I stated the options. "I just hope you don't plan on going it alone" he said. I knew he means he wasn't going to stop me but he also wasn't going to let me go by myself. I shook my head and said that I wasn't going too, if anything I was going to take a few people I knew I could trust. Alexis walked up and she stated "I'm one of those people, now let's go." He knew there was no changing her mind so he said he'd stay and help keep an eye on the other students. "Just promise me you two will be careful" and when she did, we headed for the meet up. I only took Jaden, Jesse, and Alexis because I knew they'd never let me go alone. I knew I could trust them and we knew each other's hearts better than most so we'd be safe as long as we had one of the other three with us. We met up in the woods and after joining hands, I taped into to the energies of my scouts. I felt the rushing warmth as it encircled us, it felt the same as when Sailor Earth helped me stop that fusion between Yubel and Jaden. Only this time it didn't hurt and we managed to enter the world of nightmares but somehow Jesse and Alexis got separated from me and Jaden. I couldn't believe this but I knew we'd find them, I just had to remember that they're not alone.

Jaden and I found ourselves in a field during a blizzard, but I knew how to counter it. "Just think of somewhere warm, it'll take the edge off. Believe me, I know" I told him and we continued on but I heard him suggest something "Maybe we should hold hands, that way we don't get separated" I smiled and took his as we walked on. The air was like a knife of cold, the wind howled and made it hard to stand but we couldn't give up. I heard a high pitch laugh and then we saw her: Nehelenia. She had white skin, and blood rose red lipstick that made her pointed ears look like a dark elf. Her mostly blue eyes that had golden slits like a snake and made me feel a shiver of fear strike my spine, like when Jaden dueled Viper. Her hair is mostly down apart from two buns and two ponytails coming from those buns. It was a blackish-blue that was long, wavy and overly curly; it looked like she just rolled out of bed! Her voice when she spoke was a high but was like that of young woman. Her dress is black with puffy sleeves below her shoulders and longer skin tight sleeves going down to her wrists, her top only covers her breasts and the skirt is covered by a beige overskirt. She had a sheer lavender cap thing draping over her shoulders that goes down to the floor showing her high rankings. Her earrings and headpiece consist of three silver moons (one being golden) and she wears a black circular gem as a crown and wore gold and black bracelets and a necklace with similar style.

She smiled and said "You little fool, you knew it was a trap and yet you insisted on coming here. I find it entertaining how you think you can change things through the hearts of others. We both know how fragile the heart is and how easily it's swayed. Sadness, Anger, fear, regret, hatred, jealousy… If even the slightest of doubts exist and is touched by the darkness or by nightmares? Then that soul will stay lost and alone in these planes of existence." She laughed at us and I knew she was trying to mess with us. "Can it, creep! Why are you after her anyway? What did she ever do to you?" I heard Jaden state. "She told you about the Golden Dream Crystal, right? Well then you already know." She snapped back as she stared at him with flickering eyes. "So you blame everyone close to the scouts just because they stopped you from gaining eternal youth?" He sounded surprised but annoyed. "That's right and now I can gain this through the dreams and hearts of various humans at once. But you four are in my world so the warm light of hope can't beat me here. I am without equal and I will snuff you out!" With that, she sent a blast of dark energy at us. I felt Jaden grab me and jump out of the way and hit the ground hard. I shakenly got back up and channeled one of my scout attacks. I saw the saber of Sailor Uranus materialize and sent a blade of wind at her. She managed to block it with a wall of white snow and laughed, saying it's pointless. She'll let us live but the other two, that's up to us. I took out my student notepad and tried contacting one of them. I honestly didn't expect it to work but I was glad it did, they described their surroundings but Alexis mentioned how she's amazed that when they were in trouble their monsters came to help. This time the drawbacks weren't as severe but she still hopes we don't need to call on them often.

As we continued on, I saw the scenery change from a deadened field in winter to a creepy forest. I saw how realistic these woods appeared and how they seemed to go on forever. I kept hold of Jaden's hand and we continued on. We walked for what must've been hours before I heard something… a laugh of a boy, he looked no older than twelve years old. It seemed he was playing in this creepy place, like it was fun. I noticed he was holding a wooden flute. He took one look at me and began to play a tune on it. It was comforting but he played on and smiled at the same time. I heard Jaden try to ask him what a kid his age was doing in a place like this. As he did, he went on playing and I found myself falling to my knees… soon all I saw where the flowers around my knees. I could faintly hear what was going on around me. A voice was calling my name, telling me to wake up. I heard it over and over but couldn't remember who it was. I felt someone gripping my shoulders to try and shake me to my senses. I did hear something louder in my mind though… Sailor Neptune was calling me and showed me what was happening to me with her mirror. I saw myself from within my mind; my eyes were fogged over in a soulless glazed look. I had a blank smile as my hand toyed with flowers that weren't really real. I saw Jaden look worried as he tries to get me to wake from this trance. Then there's the person causing the trance: the boy with his flute. I noticed his eyes were a dark orange-golden color and cruel looking. His hair was blackish brown and he was dressed like he was part of the Supreme King's innermost circle, possibly a sibling. I heard Jaden yelling at this kid. "Whatever you did to her you better undo right now!" the boy merely laughed and asked "Have you ever experienced a nightmare outside the dream world? If she doesn't like her dream or if she feels afraid of something in her dream? Then she can wake up on her own. The fact that you call to her urgently but she doesn't wake means she **wants** to stay in her sweet dream. My queens will be pleased to hear that she's out of commission. Now to check in on my ally…" with that he faded away but I couldn't wake from this spell's grip! Someone else appeared in his place… a queen I've never seen before.

Through Neptune's mirror I saw Jaden confront her. Apparently she was an ally to Nehelenia and her name was Queen Badiane. She wore a battle dress that had an armored tunic over a black skirt with medium volume to it. The tunic had two layers to it, one of beige-yellow and under that was a red layer. The top of the skirt had a red belt-like sash. Her chest piece had what looked like a ridged butterfly with red edges, with the rest being the same beige-yellow but thick black lines to define the different sections and outlines. A solid sun-star shaped gem was in the center of said butterfly. She had the same gem in the center of her forehead her veil was sheer black with solid red crowning and short beige-yellow, wing-antenna like things sticking out of it. She ware simple but twisty black and silver metal bracelets and necklace.

She laughed at Jaden's attempt to wake me again, his tears that hit my hands that seemed to be on autopilot. "You want to wake her that badly? Is she really that important to you? Let's find out!" with that I saw Jaden stand in front of me get blasted with dark energy that crackled like lighting. He ended up hitting one knee and was clutching his arm. "You people just don't get it… Crystal lights up the room with her soft smile! She's genuine and true! She always puts others before herself! She knew this was a trap and she still went in because she wanted to save those who were trapped! She's like the soft but warm sunshine after a cold and rainy day! That's why she's so important to me and our friends! She sees what limits should be stay intact and which should be broken! She'll risk her own life for others… don't you know or have anyone like that in your life?" It sounded like he was pleading for my life. He simply got more blasts thrown at him as a response but this time he pulled me close, his screams of pain as he was repeatedly hit by the blasts helped me find my senses. My vision became clearer and I heard him say "Don't worry… I'll protect you Crystal!" I finally snapped out of it and used Saturn's power to cut off the blasts by creating a silent dome. That sent the queen running but it also shattered the forest illusion... It was like this forest was never here and truth be told? It wasn't. Now to find Alexis and Jesse, I just realized there might be a way to find them: Neptune's Deep Sea Mirror. I thought of the golden framed and oval-shaped hand mirror. It's intricate design of the sea and a young woman for the handle. The young woman's upper body as a part of the right side of the mirror's frame, the back of the mirror was teal with the symbol of the planet Neptune engraved onto it with special runes. I used it to try and locate Jesse and Alexis but it was no use. I tried to use the logic of "anything can happen in dreams" to find them again but nothing. All the mirror showed was just black and silence. I ended up crying a bit because I was so worried about them. We simply went on and found glass and metal thorn path to a dark colosseum. I got the feeling our friends were there and the two queens too. I had only one thing on my mind: protect the ones I love… even if I can't save myself in the end. With Jaden beside me, we went up the path way but my scouts pleaded me to use their powers. I thought to them "no, not yet. I'll use them when I need them. I have to make sure of some things." Along this path there were countless minor things that tried to slow us down: circus creeps from nightmares, heart crystal thieves, and fake sailor scouts who kept fighting to slow us down. Jaden's heroes were helpful sure but I refused to just let these things slow us down.

I used all the scouts' powers to clear this pathway, I started with Jupiter's "Sparkling Thunder Pressure". It was a disk made of the sound of thunder and the electric powers of lightning bolts. I had to channel Jupiter's ability as I stretched the bolts into a thin loop that looked like a spear, but I also had to fill it with the sound of thunder which gave it the disk impact. I used an underhand pitch to send it to my foes and it turned them into shards of glass. When the blast cleared, we were good to keep moving but when I looked back to check on Jaden? I saw, to my horror that he wasn't there! One of those creeps must've nabbed him. I stopped for a second, my fists clenched, my eyes shut tight as I felt tears well up… Once again people I care about are in danger, once again those I love are taken from me because they could be taken! Once again I'm the one who's left with the blame. I felt so enraged by this, like the sun, all of the sacred fire on earth, and hell itself were burning in my blood! I couldn't let these nightmarish Queens or whatever get what they wanted. "Sailor Scouts! Please hear my call!" with that they appeared before me, as real as myself. "I need you guys to help me by using the tag team format we've been practicing". I saw them look worried or alarmed. Sailor Venus spoke up "Crystal if something goes amiss you'll die from the huge loss of life energy!" "And if I don't use it, they'll die instead!" I snapped back. They all thought for moment and then nodded as they faded back into my thoughts.

I ran as fast as I could up the remainder of the steps but when I entered the building, I collapsed on my knees from exhaustion. As I caught my breath, I saw the inside of the colosseum was really some sort of throne room. I saw there were three were thrones and two platforms. What was going on? I heard 5 sets of laughs, all female. Then I heard one male voice. Three of the 5 feminine voices were the Dark Queens: Galaxia in her bright golden-brass armored dress. Badiane, a figure of a chaotic butterfly who sucks the life from dreams of children. Finally, Nehelenia, the creator of nightmares and selfish dreams herself! They sat there in their respective thrones made of silver metal, black and blood red crystals for Badiane. Glass with golden flecks in Galaxia's throne, and finally, one made of polished red wood and green cushion for Nehelenia. Now standing on the black crystal platforms, were the older and thoroughly corrupted counterparts of Rini and Hotaru. Wicked Lady was the darker side of Rini, born from misunderstandings and hatred for children who were loved. Sailor Moon managed to drive this side out and save the real Rini but this was still a disturbing thought. This Rini look much older, like she was in her late teens or early twenties and her hair was long like her mother's. The little cones were smaller and the fluffy pigtails were slimmer now. As for Mistress 9, she was the Sovereign of Silence and represents what could've been Hotaru's fate if the scouts hadn't saved her. Again, she was much taller, she looked like she was a year or two older than Wicked Lady. I noticed that her hair was much longer and judging from how it was flowing so freely and reached the floor? Heck she had several inches on the floor, it so it seemed to work as a weapon! I knew they were fakes and mere looks of what could've been the future, but still it wasn't an easy sight. I saw that young man from the woods again. He had dark green hair, tan skin, reddish-brown eyes, and he wore a strange kind of peasant shirt with green vest over it. He also had light tan-yellow trousers on and no shoes. He smiled at me and I saw a look of pride that only a villain's minion could have.

Nehelenia spoke first. "You've shown quite the determination to make it here, and in such beat up clothes." Galaxia was next to "praise" me "I'm surprised though, I would've expected you to die long before. Well no matter, I'm sure you'll be wishing for it soon enough". Badiane smiled cruelly at me and laughed "I hope you have half the rage your brother did, or destroying you won't be as fun". I shakily stood up and saw Mistress 9 drag someone out and throw them a few feet in front of me. I saw it was Jesse and he was literally fading! Like he was one of the spirits we can communicate with… he stretched out his hand and weakly smiled at me. I found my strength and went over to him. Something felt off when I held him in my arms, his head resting against my arm. He weakly lifted his arm to touch my face as I heard his voice, weak and pitiful. "Cr-Crystal… Please… help …me." I heard him cough but I looked him in the eyes and said "I can't help an illusion. I'm sorry. You're just a phantom of someone I know". I knew because even in a death like this, he's body would been turning cold very quickly but still have a tiny bit of heat to it. This version of Jesse had no warmth and his eyes weren't struggling to focus but all the same he faded away, leaving nothing but bunch of teal glitter. I stood back up and looked at these dark witches and their only male companion and said "You quite finished? I didn't come here to fool around!" they merely smiled and Galaxia said to me "Did you know that a heart is most beautiful when it is consumed by a passion that cannot be tamed? You are one such person" I could care less about their prattle. Wicked Lady simply stretch out her arm and with her fingers pointed down, she turned her wrist in a circle. "Now do you see the consequences of meddling in the dreams of others?" she smiled coldly as I saw the gothic mirrors that mean nightmares appear. Each held the victims of the spell at duel academy, my brother, Alexis, Jesse, and the crystal beasts. Each victim trapped in their own mirror and looking at me through purple glass. I stared at each face, Jaden pressed his fingertips to the glass as if to trying to reach me. I looked at his face and then to the one that had Jesse who had the left side of his clenched fist pressed to the glass... looking helpless to do a damn thing where he is now. "You see, it doesn't matter if we seal the whole deck or not, each spirit is isolated form the master. As for your friends? Why have them share a mirror? Tormenting them like this is more fun!" Mistress 9 smiled.

I turned to the evils and discarded my empty duel disk to the side. This was a fight I couldn't rely on my scouts to win, they were even put in the mirrors. "If you want to have something to beat to death… then use me. But let them go! Release them and all the victims! Take out all your rage and hatred on me." I could feel my eyes fill with tears because these people gave me hope, love, and a reason to live. "I swear by my own name and by the celestial beings that I won't fight back, I won't run… I won't try to retrieve my cards… just release these victims to where they belong." I heard them swear on the River of Styx because they knew that if I prove against my word then both vows would be voided. I was hit repeatedly by black energy blasts that hit like wind & electricity, golden orbs that burnt like fire, and hair turned into a whip and it struck my skin like knives. All of these hurt and sent me sprawling to the floor, against the walls, and into the pillars that were mere decoration. Before long I couldn't find the strength to stand. I saw the young man walk towards me and I felt him grab my neck. I gasped from how hard he gripped my neck. My chest felt tight and like it was on fire. I looked at him in the eyes and saw him freak out a second before trying to suffocate me again.

He eventually just threw me to where the floor and wall meet. "Why do you still look at us with those eyes?! Eyes that shine without doubt or hate?! Don't you despise us?!" I coughed and said as clearly as I could "I hate what you did, but I don't hate you as a living being… My sole purpose in life... Is to heal others and protect the innocent. You're not beyond saving yet. If you were? Then I would have done a mercy kill. But because you can still be saved… I won't end your life. If beating on me like a punching bag makes you feel better? Then go ahead." For some reason I found myself smiling softly as I thanked each person I loved, befriended, and got to know in my life in my mind. Soon I heard the shattering of glass and I saw my friends and the crystal beasts appear my scouts appeared beside them. We surrounded these lost and broken souls. They interfered of their own will so the two vows aren't voided but we still have a chance to make this right. I let Sailor Earth take control for a bit as she joined hands with Sailor Cosmos Sailor Moon, Prince Darien, Sailor Mini Moon, and Helios; with them using the golden dream crystal and silver moon crystal, along with my pure heart crystal, soul seed, and dream mirror, and the joined hearts of the crystal beasts, the sailor scouts, Jaden, Alexis, and Jesse? We were able to purify all of these lost souls, heal them, free those trapped in the spell, and return home. The last thing I remember was each of us were taken to the island's medical center.


	13. Chapter 13

When I finally came too I saw everyone was ok. The rest of the year, I took on minor threats and showed that we couldn't be pushed around. Though I have to admit, it felt weird. I never felt comfortable fighting in front of others before. I guess because it was because they saw I wouldn't just hit without reason. The only problem was I couldn't be seen doing this in the open. If I was, then the school would probably have a field day with it. I'd rather avoid that if possible. So I continued on with life.

One night, Sailor Moon sat me down in my dorm and said we needed to talk. They would soon have to make a big decision but without me. Those words hurt and I was confused. I couldn't stop myself from saying: "So… you don't need me anymore? Is that what you're saying?!" she placed a hand on my own and said; "of course not, Crystal. What I'm saying is we have a place back in the kingdom that needs us. I know we already asked you so much but-" "forget it. Just forget it." I snapped. The last thing I wanted to hear was this. I just left my deck on my desk and went for a walk. I wandered around the island for what must've been hours when I found myself at the abandoned dorm. This place… I had never gone anywhere near it before. I didn't care what the rules said about being out at night, but I did about this place. So I continued on and saw that lab… well, the remains of it. All the animals were taken away and now this place was just old rubble. Good! Good riddance! I just wondered on and I heard what sounded like a waterfall. I followed it and saw a small one. But behind one side was a gap. I went inside and found a hollowed out but dry cave. I sat down in it and started up a small fire with twigs, bark, and sticks. I used some flint stones I found here to do this. Starring into the flames I thought of everything that I've been though but looking back? I saw how much I grew but still. This news felt like nothing changed… I still haven't done anything on my own. I always had someone with me.

It must've been almost dawn by the time I made my way to the building. I missed all morning classes but right now? I felt numb. For once in my life, I just wanted to be a bit selfish but if I was? I would hurt everyone I loved. How could I deal with this alone? If I'm so special then how come I feel so broken again? At the end of the day I heard Aster talking about how he still thinks what I did last night was stupid. That was it. I finally blew a fuse. "You think I can't hear you?! You think I don't give a damn what you say?! Well I do! But you're too busy bing a self rightouse, self serving, badmouthing jerk!" I spat in his face. He just glared and shot back "like you have room to talk?! You act like you're the voice of reason but we all know you'd shrivel up without Jaden or Jesse! So get off my back about it!" As the words got worse, I felt like I had to just tear him up for all the crap he did. "oh please! You went on live television, bad mouth my brother in the lest tactful way, and even claimed he stole you're "style". Did you ever think for one second, that maybe there was a different kind of hero-based monster other than your destiny heroes? What do you even have aginst my brother that you can't at least say sorry for? And why did you drag Jesse into this? what could you possibly have against him?!" now he looked irked. "not my lips, that's for sure! I know you went to his dorm late a few nights!" "WHAAT?! That's what you're starting things about? You're jealous?" I shrieked. He just stood his ground, "do you think he'd even be with you if you didn't have sooo much in common? Are you that blind?" "well at least he treats me like I'm not a prize to be won" I snapped. "but would he love you if you were just a normal kid?" he shot back. "NO ONE CARED ABOUT ME BEFORE THEY FOUND OUT ABOUT ME!" everything grew quiet… "and now? I'd rather just.. stop everything. Stop tiring to be someone special." I finally just ran with tears down my eyes. I was back to square two at best... I just stayed distant. Hardly tried to win my duels, didn't care about homework. And even stayed away from my friends. Jesse and the others tried coaxing me out but I was just done. I was tired of this, I was tired of trying. I hated how I behaved, I was childish. I was petty and worst of all? I hardly cared. So for an unknown amount of time, I just went through the motions. Sailor moon finally came to talk again. "what? You going to tell me how I was wrong and I shouldn't behave this way?" I asked. She didn't say a word. "Well it's too bad I already know that. I know I was horrible over something that was small... I know I was acting like a brat.. and I know I'll pay the price. But I just stopped caring. I don't know how to continue and I don't really care." Then Sailor Moon sat beside me. "Crystal, I know how hard it is to deal with goodbyes and facing something you don't want too. You're right though, I don't know loneliness as you do. I don't think anyone really does, but I do know this; you've done things that no one else could. Besides, we relied on your help because we know how strong you can be." She said this but even so, that didn't change how I felt. Even so, I did apologize and got the whole story. After a few days, I finally felt a little better but that didn't fix everything. So I just didn't dule anyone for a while. Eventually, I was back to my semi-old self.

Once a month or two passed, I went out to the forest alone. Our school was holding a celebration for the last month of the year and there would be dancing, signing, food, conversation, and a few former guests would be invited back. I felt happy to know this but I also felt that pang of sadness in my heart again. My scouts had completed their mission and they've earned their right to the thrones that await them in the afterlife… I'm ok with it now but still sad because: I can't be with them. They'll never be part of my deck ever again. So I savored these last few weeks with them and recounted all of the events with them. We talked, laughed, and joked as if we were are all one big celestial family. I smiled despite my breaking heart… I told them I would be singing again. This is something I haven't done in a long while. I even agreed to go out with Jesse! This thrilled them all and I smiled but deep down? I wanted to cry; it was like saying goodbye to Jaden all over again… That felt like lifetimes ago but this was worse because I'd be losing them all at once. Unlike with Jaden, I could never see or hear or hug them again. It was like I was burring all my friends at once.

The night after the dance, I asked my friends to come with me & I was glad they did. Even Jim and Axel, who were invited because of how they helped the school, where there. I knew this would be the last night my scouts and I would be a team. We walked out to the clearing where my friends and I saw the moonlight illusion appear. This place is where I accepted my feeling for Jesse before running after him, where I would practice my singing and dancing in private, where I showed Jaden that I had the abilities of a Sailor Scout because I could channel their powers, and where I have to say goodbye. So with a breaking heart, I stepped out into the center of the clearing and the moonlight danced on me. I felt Sailor Earth's spirit gently leave my heart and soul. She stood before me as real as I am, it felt like I was looking into a mirror but one that reflected my future. She was everything I wanted to be and still had to learn about. All my other scouts, as well as Tuxedo Mask, Helios, Luna, Artemis, and Diana, all of them were as real as myself and our friends. Sailor Earth smiled and hugged me as she said: "I'm so proud of you, you've grown up so much since we first met." I felt like I would cry and I just hugged her back as I thanked them for everything. The soft moonlight allowed Serena's father to descend on it like a pathway to and from heaven. I knew they'd leave now… so why even ask? His voice was like Darien's but older as he said "Sailor Scouts, daughters of the divine, and guardians of our galaxy. You have completed your task and fulfilled your purpose. But you have one last thing you must do: you must make a choice that is solely yours but as a team. Will you rest in peace in the celestial kingdoms? Or will you stay here as spirits who can become real in a crisis?"

There was only a moment of silence before Sailor Moon and Earth stepped forward. "We, the Sailor Scouts, want to stay here." Sailor Earth responded. That was a shock to me and I apparently wasn't the only one. I looked at my brother, our duel spirit friends, Jesse, and our other friends; I saw that they all looked as confused as I was. Sailor Moon went on to say "Please understand, we do miss you all, but we miss being helpful to others who need us even more. We could never choose a life, an eternal life, miles away from those who need us more than a silly throne ever could. We are champions of justice and on behalf of our homes..." At this point all the scouts spoke as one "We will right wrongs and triumph over evil, no matter what form we take: Flesh and Blood or Spirit and Stardust. Because we stand for love, truth, and justice. That is why we are Sailor Scouts and why we want to stay with our friends who are also our family". I saw her father smile and he looked at his wife, Sailor Cosmos and nodded before saying "Then I won't stop you. You have made your choice and you know the risks. I wouldn't expect anything less of you. I wish you happiness and good fortune. Serenity, Serena, and Rini, I just want you to know that no matter how far apart we may be, my heart will always find a way to thee." He said this as gave each girl a kiss on her forehead, he smiled and patted the two guys on the shoulders before hugging them and then gave the three felines a gentle head rub before leaving without them.

I felt I had to say something, so I did. "Why did you chose to stay?" I asked. They turned and looked at me before smiling and Sailor Uranus said "We're looking at our reason. You reminded us why we are Sailor Scouts: to stand by our friends and loved ones, even if our families are miles away. If we chose to leave, we would have been only thinking of ourselves. We wanted to stay because we can help others move actively here and be with the ones who we can admire and respect from an outsider looking in." I never thought about it that way… I knew they meant the world to me and they cared about my well-being but this? As if reading me like a textbook, Sailor Mercury spoke next "After all the first rule to being a Sailor Scout is you never leave your friends behind, and since we'd never leave a fellow Sailor Scout for eternal peace, we'd never do that to you either. Do you know why?" I knew the answer but I couldn't believe it…

Mars spoke up to explain "Because you have what it takes to be a Sailor Scout despite the fact you weren't born a celestial being like us. You know truth because you've been lied too." Then Jupiter "You're strong because you know your weaknesses". Venus was up next "You're beautiful because you accept your faults". Mercury spoke, "You're intelligent because you ask questions". Sailor Moon added, "You're kind because you know how it feels to be hurt". Mini Moon chimed in "You're loyal because you've known betrayal". Saturn spoke up now "You're brave because you face your fears" Uranus added "You're skillful because you know practice and patience" Neptune added, "You're loving because you've felt hate a few times and overcame it." Pluto stated, "You're wise because you learn from your past in order to enjoy the now and take the steps to make a brighter tomorrow." Cosmos said, "You are understanding because you know where limits are needed." Earth spoke last "and you are sturdy because you've been broken before." That's when they all said together in harmony "You're an extraordinary scout and duelist because you're an ordinary person who understands" I finally smiled and felt tears of joy run down my face as I ended this with "Limited Unity through Unlimited Diversity" and that's how my life has been ever since. I may not know what life has in store for me, but I know I'm not alone anymore. I have my family, my friends, my duel spirits, and even an amazing boyfriend right there with me. I couldn't ask for more than that because I have all I could ever need and want.


End file.
